10,300 mile Park-to-Park Trek

Jean and I spent Saturday and Sunday September 21st and 22nd in Reno, Nevada where good internet connection and comfortable accommodations permitted us to get caught up on company and personal business. Monday morning, September 23rd, after a good breakfast at a locally owned restaurant, Jean and I headed south toward our lodgings on the […]

The morning of Tuesday, September 24th was filled with a combination of excitement and apprehension; for me anyway.  Jean continued with her undaunted faith and trust in our ability to meet any challenge.  My concern was based on our pervious evening’s “sampling” of the Tioga Road leading to the east entrance to Yosemite National Park. 

On September 24th, after catching our breath from the traverse of 9,900 foot elevation Tioga Pass (see previous blog entry “Conquering Tioga Pass”) we we entered Yosemite National Park’s east entrance.  We then proceeded on to our first stop; Olmsted Point overlook – named after the famous landscape architect, who laid out plans for Yosemite

We left Fresno, California mid-morning of September 26th and headed toward Kings Canyon National Forest. A note of explanation here:  As one of the 12 National Park stops on the original 1920 Park-to-Park Tour the participants visited what was then called “General Grant National Park”.  Today, as best as I can determine comparing the 1920

Most of Friday, September 27th was spent driving from Bakersfield, California to Las Vegas, Nevada.  Las Vegas was selected as a convenient launching off point for Zion National Park in Utah; the 10th scheduled National Park stop on our Trek. Las Vegas also provided decent internet connectivity and a selection of church service options. Welcome

On Sunday morning September 29th we left Las Vegas on our Trek to Zion National Park.  As far as we could determine, much of the 125 mile stretch from Las Vegas, Nevada to Littlefield, Arizona used by the original 1920 Park-to-Park Tour group has been covered over by I-15.  We usually avoid Interstates; however, since

We arrived at out cabin in Springdale, Utah Tuesday evening, September 29th; settled in and walked down Springdale’s main street to have some dinner at one of the many interesting cafés and restaurants.  Springdale is nestled in and directly adjacent to the south entrance of Zion National Park.  The town has managed to maintain a

Woke up at dawn Tuesday, October 1st at our cabin in Springdale, Utah on the southern edge of Zion National Park.  Our plan was to head out toward Grand Canyon National Park, the 11th National Park on our Trek.  We had stayed up until midnight the previous evening to hear if they would be closing

Since the Grand Canyon National Park was closed, the folks at the Jacob Lake Inn provided us with a hand-sketched, not-to-scale map of a 30+ mile un-paved and mostly un-marked single lane route to a location outside the National Park boundaries where one could view the Grand Canyon from its north rim.  Due to road

Left Page, Arizona the morning of October 3rd and headed toward Cortez, Colorado – at the foot of Mesa Verde National Park.  We were well aware that Mesa Verde would most likely also be closed due to the Government shutdown, so we decided to make the best of travels by driving through Monument Valley and