# Home From Zion



## skippershe

Well, we're home and I'm finally ready to sit down and tell all about our adventures in Zion...

We planned to drive halfway to Las Vegas and stay overnight at the Oasis RV Resort. We were meeting dmichaelis and their rally guests Pete, Sandy and their granddaughter Madyson so we could all travel to Zion together. We left last Friday around 2pm and arrived at the Oasis at 9pm, hit some traffic on the way but that was to be expected with our late start.

We enjoyed our short stay at the Oasis very much. The grounds were very nice, quiet, well kept and nicely shaded. Since we arrived so late, our dinner was pretty much microwaved hotdogs and potato salad. Before leaving the next morning, we had an awesome breakfast at Rick's Diner inside the main building. I would highly recommend this place.

We left for Zion Saturday morning, had to make a few stops mainly for dh's beer and other adult beverage supplies that was illegal to transport into Utah. Knowing this had me a little on edge, but there was no way we were going in without it







Utah only sells 3.2 % beer at $2.00 a bottle and it just wasn't going to cut it, so we just took our chances. Next stop was Costco in St George for the Sunday Meet & Greet and Monday's continental breakfast food supplies. By the time I checked out, my cart was so high with food, that I could barely see over the top to get it out the door.

We finally arrived at Zion River Resort around 3pm, checked in, and then had to unload all of the food before it melted. ZRR had a nice large walk-in cooler where we were able to store everything. It also became my favorite spot to hang out in









Sunday arrived and it was time to get ready for the Meet & Greet. I had 840 meatballs to heat up and 5 crockpots at the ready. I have to give a big Thank You to KenKat (Ken and Kathy) and jnk26jnk (Jodi) for helping me set up, I couldn't have done it without you guys! Also, a big thanks to Tricia (Crismon4) for picking up all the drinks and dry goods. Since it was so hot, we were all pretty much stuck in the Social Hall for the evening, but I think everyone had a great time.

Monday morning, we had Michael Plyler speak during our continental breakfast. He told us all about the history of Zion Park and described it as "Yosemite in Color" He had a great sense of humor and told some great stories. Around Noontime, we set out to attempt to make it to Bryce Canyon, but didn't make it all the way because we had Equalizer coming in for their presentation at 5:00. We went through the Zion tunnel and got as far as the Buffalo Grill before we had to turn around and head back. I was able to take lots of photos and it was just nice to be inside the air conditioned truck. We got back to ZRR and got ready for our big Famous Dave's BBQ dinner that began at 7pm. The food was amazing, their serving staff was great and there was plenty to go around more than once. We had ZRR's staff join us for dinner as well...

Tuesday morning we actually got up at 6:45 am and went into Zion. We did only the first part of the Narrow's hike along the walking path which was about 3 miles round trip. We didn't do the water part because our son is only 5 and we didn't think he was ready for it yet. We were in awe from the beginning, we saw deer, 4 thousand year old water dripping from inside the rocks. One thing that really disappointed us was the amount of trash and old crusty socks left at the river's edge. We wished that we had taken a bag along to collect it and bring it back to the visitor center to show them that they needed to do a better job of keeping litter under control. At the end of our hike, the sun was starting to come into the canyon, so we decided to call it a day there. We had lunch in Springdale at a little converted house called Blondies Diner...Pat had a buffalo burger and I stuck with a BLT. Food was great and we got some good information about the 4th of July activities from the locals that were eating there.

After we left Blondie's, Pat wanted to check out the ghost town of Grafton. We were told by Michael Plyler that this was where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's "Raindrops" bicycle scene was filmed. We were told to go to the next town of Rockville (pop. 242) and go to the second lightbulb (not stoplight) and make a left, go over the bridge on Bridge Street. We found ourselves on a very bumpy unpaved road...hotter than hell, had to switch into 4 wheel drive to get up some of the hills. Once there, we found the cemetary from the 1800's and further up the road was the church/schoolhouse and house where Paul Newman and Jane Fonda rode their bike. You will see a photo of the church in my attached album along with an old abandoned log house and small barn. History of Grafton
and here is the Raindrops Film clip The church appears in the first 20 seconds.

We arrived back at ZRR and finally got the tiki bar up and running. It was so hot during the day that construction took place after dark. Since it never got dark until 10 pm, most were already tired from their activities and the heat and turned in early, but that night StaceyR (Stacey and Judy) came over and joined us all for margaritas and other concoctions. They brought over an astounding array of wines, liquors and mixers...it was a great time!

Wednesday the 4th arrived with all of it's fury, easily the hottest day there at 112 degrees. We basically laid low that day watching movies in the Outback with it's glorious a/c and then ventured into the pool and later sat in the river under the easy up for another 3 hours. The kids were playing around us, and later discovered that due to our lack of responsible parenting skills and not making sure that our son drank enough water, he wound up with what we thought was a bad sunburn, but was actually heat exhaustion...he conked out by 7pm (very unlike him), so we decided it would be best not to go into town for the fireworks, which actually turned into a very good thing. Sandy and I were waiting to hear the fireworks begin around 10:00, and were discussing how we were suprised that they would still have the show being that it was still 100 degrees that night and very windy. Then we noticed cars speeding along the main road and many of our Outbackers returning by about 10:20. We weren't surprised at all to hear that Zion had caught on fire, but were very thankful that we didn't go along.

At about 2:00am that night, our son began vomiting and it lasted through the night and into the next day. Pat was up all night with him (cause he was closest







) I worried because we weren't getting any sleep and had a 9 hour drive home in the morning. I got up around 8am and began breaking down the tiki bar, the heat was rising already, but I had to let Pat get as much sleep as he could. When we were finally all packed up and ready to leave, I carried Michael out to the truck. He was still very sick with a fever and vomiting. Kelly and Bill (mgrw3gr) came over to say goodbye and helped us get Michael situated with children's tylenol and motrin (she gave me both of her brand new unopened bottles) Thank You Kelly!
and a can of sprite for his upset tummy. Finally after a couple of hours on the road and some sleep, he woke up hungry and was doing much better.

On the way back, looking for something different to eat for lunch, I found a Sonic Burger on the GPS. I'd always heard good things about it (not as good as in-n-out) but thought we should try it anyway. After getting off the highway in N. Vegas and maneuvering our way there, we found out that they didn't have a walk up window and was strickly a drive-thru...basically they refused to serve us







We then found a Del Taco to pull into, but the best part was the Starbucks next door! I hadn't had a coffee in 6 days and finally got to have my iced venti decaf 6 shots of espresso with vanilla and half & half









Pat needed some rest and we decided that it was my turn to finally get behind the wheel of our rig and let him sleep. I actually drove for just over 100 miles, I was white knuckled with sweaty palms and couldn't stop thinking that my family's life was in my hands at this point. After awhile, I got the hang of it and was able to stop tensing my butt muscles when a big rig was about to pass us. I handed the wheel over when we saw the big looming black ominous dust cloud up ahead. Thank goodness it wasn't as bad as tdvffjohn described, and we got through it with just a few gusts. Going through Baker Calif, we too hit the 123 degree temps and I declared that the minute we got home, I was going to get out and kiss our driveway which I immediately did when we arrived. It felt so good to be back in 70 degree weather and we have vowed to never ever camp in those extreme conditions ever again.

To be perfectly honest, I loved meeting everyone and I wish we had gotten to have more quality time together. The heat really put a damper on the spare time that we did have. I hope to get to see you all again in a more weather friendly environment. Thank you to all that made this rally possible...

Here is the link to my photo album...warning: 148 photographs of alot of big rocks, and not enough camping shots...my apologies! Kevin (Insomniak) pretty much covered the people shots and did a fantastic job!

My Zion Photo Album

I hope you enjoy my photos! Thanks for listening









p.s. we're also happy to report that we got 12.4 mpg average while towing with the new truck


----------



## MaeJae

Great pictures! and story.
It looks like shade was in high demand. It sounds like your son 
had heat exhaustion. Glad to hear he is OK now.

MaeJae


----------



## sleecjr

Those pics are great. I would love to go out there.


----------



## Carey

Glad you made it back.. The heat in that area is incredible this time of year, uh...

I had read that equalizer would be showing something new and not seen yet. What was it?

Carey


----------



## Camping Fan

Great pics Dawn!







You've got some awesome postcard/calendar shots there.







Makes me want to hitch up the Outback and head west even more than I already did. Until I can make the trip in person, I'll just enjoy the pictures from folks who have been there and shared with the rest of us.


----------



## 3LEES

Thanks for sharing your experiences and photos with us Dawn. Great looking kid ya got there!


----------



## skippershe

Colorado~DirtBikers said:


> Glad you made it back.. The heat in that area is incredible this time of year, uh...
> 
> I had read that equalizer would be showing something new and not seen yet. What was it?
> 
> Carey


Carey,
I'm so sorry, I can't remember the name of the product. Hopefully someone will remember what it was called and got a photo of it. It was basically a new set of bars that eliminated the "L" brackets on the Equalizer hitch. It would work with any w/d system and allowed the user to load their w/d bars without having to lift up the back of the truck or have to use the cheater bar...the tongue jack did all the work. Equalizer brought 20 sets for us to take and test for them after signing a liability form. I personally didn't feel the need to change what we already have since we finally got it dialed in again for the second time. My thought was "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" I'm not sure how many takers there were, only maybe a few...

Hopefully someone else will chime in and give a better explanation


----------



## Doxie-Doglover-Too

love your pix!


----------



## NDJollyMon

Glad you had fun. Welcome back. Nice review.


----------



## WACOUGAR

Thanks for sharing the pictures. They are beautiful. Sure wish we could have made it down there. It was just too far for this year. I will keep hoping for a Montana Rally for next year!!!

Thanks again and glad everyone had fun.

Kelly


----------



## wolfwood

skippershe said:


> Well, we're home and I'm finally ready to sit down and tell all about our adventures in Zion...


WOW! And what an adventure it sounds like!!! Welcome home. Thanks for sharing the photos and for letting those of us who couldn't be there enjoy those spectacular views AND - of course - the Tiki Bar..must have been a wonderful sight out there in the middle of the desert!!!

btw, your Michael is adorable!


----------



## California Jim

Sorry to hear about the little guy Dawn. Thanks for the excellent update and photos. I enjoyed them both


----------



## JonesFamily

GREAT pictures! What a cutie patootie your little man is! Glad he's feeling better!

Lisa


----------



## BigBadBrain

Very good review and nice pictures (I especially liked the wildflower shot with the nice bokeh!). It's nice to have a coherent description of what the trip was like.

BBB


----------



## campntn

What a great trip! I enjoyed the pictures and the stories Dawn. 
Are you like me and READY TO HIT THE ROAD AGAIN??? hahah. 
Wife says it's the trucker in my blood from my father. I dunno. But
it sure sounds like ya'll had a blast. 
That 10pm sunset is just not right is it? 
Thanks for sharing!
Mark


----------



## fspieg

GREAT PICTURES!! If you are not a pro photographer you should be. Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a good trip despite the heat.

Rick


----------



## sjredburn

Hi Dawn,

Glad to hear that that your son recovered nicely from the heat exhaustion. It's can sneak up on you - I know from experience - so don't feel badly about not catching it in time.

I enjoyed your pics - Judy took many of the same but we went to some different places (Bryce, Cedar Breaks, North Rim of the Grand Canyon etc) so we'll try to get them online soon after she pares down to the best of the bunch.

I'm jealous of your diesel's mileage. Were you able to maintain freeway speeds towing over the grades and through the headwinds and heat? That was more than our "mere" Dodge Hemi could handle. It struggled most of the way home, even with a much smaller trailer than yours. We averaged no better than 8 mpg trying to keep up with traffic! I'm not surprised that there were so many diesel powered TVs at the rally. I know what will be under the hood of our next truck...

We both enjoyed relaxing at the Tiki Bar and hope to do it again under more temperate conditions sometime soon! The whole trip was a blast and we came home with many great memories (and a cracked windshield, unfortunately).

Thanks again for all your hard work in making this rally so successful.

Cheers!

Stacey


----------



## hurricaneplumber

Can I ask what kind of camera you use?? They are some good pics, makes me want to go out there now.


----------



## Herbicidal

Thanks for all the photo's Dawn! I'm sorry that it was SO HOT!!! And about your son.







Personally, I don't do so well in the heat and seek out cooler climes.

Glad you and all the rest of the traveling Outbacker's had a safe trip too.


----------



## skippershe

Stacey R said:


> Can I ask what kind of camera you use?? They are some good pics, makes me want to go out there now.


Hi Hurricane,

I use a Nikon D-50 which I love! The main lens that I used for those shots was a Nikon Nikkor 18-70mm which has a bit of a wide angle for landscapes, yet is great for portrait shots as well.


----------



## mollyp

Dawn,

Your photos were breathtaking. Thanks for sharing them. Glad you had a great time, but so sorry for you and all the ZRR goers that Mother nature sent that brutal heat. Glad that everything worked out OK for your little guy.


----------



## campmg

Dawn -- thanks so much for the update and sharing all the pictures. I'm very glad to hear your son had a fast recovery. Being from Arizona we have experience with high temps and know the dangers of dehydration and heat stroke. By the way, the tiki bar looked fabulous.

As you know, I was very disappointed that I had to cancel our plans to attend the rally. HOWEVER, after reading the reviews and all the heat, I feel a lot better now having stayed home. I go camping in the mountians of northern Arizona to get away from the heat. I do wish I could have met many of you and will keep my eye out for the So. Cal. rally that you mentioned.

Mitch


----------



## STBNCBN

so you are saying it was hot?


----------



## skippershe

STBNCBN said:


> so you are saying it was hot?


No, it was F***ing Hot!!


----------



## Doxie-Doglover-Too

skippershe said:


> so you are saying it was hot?


No, it was F***ing Hot!!








[/quote]


----------



## N7OQ

Dawn thanks for all the great pictures, that camera does a great job. Sorry your Son got sick but glad he is OK now. You have a very nice family wish I could have been there to meet everyone but glad I was not camping in that heat, not much fun is it. This is the time of year I like camp on the coast. I really like that truck, I might have to look at them when I get to buy my new truck.


----------



## skippershe

Thank you everyone for your well wishes for our son









I called his pediatrician today to find out if he might have any future or long term issues from his exposure and I was assured that he would not.

After giving the doctor his symptoms, he thinks that it could also have been a virus of some kind. I remember others at the campground saying that their kids were acting sick and vomiting with fever as well, and he said that there was something going around and that could have very well have been the case.

We may never know what he really had, but we certainly learned an important lesson for future exposure to the sun and heat...reapply sunscreen regularly and make them drink lots of water!


----------



## RizFam

Hey Dawn,

Great story & with such details.







I have to agree w/ everyone your pictures are beautiful!

Glad to hear that Michael is better, it is so scary when they are so sick like that.









Love the History of Grafton & nice touch w/ the link. The Berry Brother's Tombstone is in great shape for 141 years old.







I like the, "Killed By Indians" part....








I also watched the raindrops clip, WOW Paul Newman was so young.








Very proud of you for driving







Congratulations!!

You should have taken pictuers of the socks & debris at the river's edge to show the Park staff. That is a shame & we would have been upset & disappointed by that as well.









Thanks for sharing your Zion Rally Adventures!!

Tami


----------



## beachbum

What a story!! Great pictures and what a nice looking family you all make!! Sorry about the problems you had with the heat. Sounds like a good reason to stay close to an ocean!!
david


----------



## z-family




----------



## California Jim

skippershe said:


> After giving the doctor his symptoms, he thinks that it could also have been a virus of some kind. I remember others at the campground saying that their kids were acting sick and vomiting with fever as well, and he said that there was something going around and that could have very well have been the case.


Dawn - Both of our girls, two of their little cousins, and one little friend all had "THE VOMITING THING" within the last 2 weeks. It is highly contagious! There is definately something going around here right now. Glad to hear he is doing well now


----------



## Insomniak

Well, I guess Nikon's can take pretty good pics after all.....









My two favorites were the adobe looking ? church buildings (the photo after the last tombstone pic) and the solo rock formation a few down from that one.

I'm starting to slog through my 830 photos from Zion, and have like......three ready to go. Working seven 10 hour shifts in a row sure doesn't leave much time for fun stuff, but come Wednesday I'll be off for seven days. Whoo-hoo !!! Git 'er done!


----------



## Herkdoctor

Dawn,
You are right about the heat and the 10PM sunset putting a damper on the after hours socializing but over all me and Michelle had a great time and we got to meet some great people. It was our first rally and worth the drive from Abilene. Thanks for all you did to make the rally happen.

Scott


----------

