Coast to Coast Grandkids Tour - Arches NP (July 2011)

The sultry red rock landscapes of Arches National Park are among the most dramatic in the country.

Balanced Rock is one of the favorite places to see while at the park.  Who knows when this thing will fall off its pedestal.

Dave and Ryan waving during our primitive loop trail walk. 

The park boasts over 2000 stone arches, including the world-renowned Delicate Arch, a favorite spot for gazing at the sunset, and the 306 foot long Landscape Arch, one of the longest arch formations in the world.

Kathy and the boys decide to take a rest at Double Arch before continuing our walk.  

This formation is know as the Pot Hole Arch.

Delicate Arch is a 52-foot (16 m) tall  freestanding natural arch. It is the most widely-recognized landmark in Arches National Park and is depicted on Utah license plates.  The Olympic Torch Relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics passed through the arch.

The boys have to climb everything and anything here in Sand Dune Arch.

Think we can balance three people on this rock?

I hope Ryan's Mother does not see this photo!

Jake trying his hand at rock climbing.  He found one of the cool places among the rocks.  The further you get to the inside of this crevice the cooler the temperature gets.  It was very hot during our walk.

That's right, Dave is on top of the rock with Ryan.  I honestly do not know what goes through his mind sometimes.  Now, get off the rock!

Now Dave gets both the boys in action.  I thought this area was for kids only!

Landscape Arch at 306 feet long.  On September 1, 1991, a 73-foot slab of rock fell out from underneath the thinnest section of the span. This was captured on video by a Swiss tourist who happened to be behind the arch at the time. On the sound track of the video, another hiker can be heard saying "I don't think I want to walk back under there!"

Jake decided to complete the Junior Ranger Program here at the park.  Here we are at his swearing in ceremony.  He and Ryan completed four Junior Ranger programs last year during our vacation.

Coast to Coast Grandkids Tour - Great Basin NP (July 2011)

Kathy and the boys hanging at the entrance to Great Basin National Park in Nevada.

Here we are hiking the Alpine Lakes Loop Trail.  The trail passes two beautiful lakes and you get to see good views of Wheeler Peak.

We stopped at Lake Teresa for a short break.  The water is a dark turquoise and looks inviting, but it's really cold and no one is getting in.  What's wrong with this picture?  Ryan has a jacket and everyone else has short sleeve.  What's up?

You can see there were other visitors on the trail.  The hike was about 2.7 miles in length.

Yes, we did have some snow to manage during our hike.

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In the shadow of 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak, 5,000 year old bristlecone pine trees grow on rocky glacial moraines.  The glaciers are covered by ash so you cannot see them, but you can definitely see how deep the snow is on the edge leading up to the peak.

On our return hike, Jake finds a great seat to take a rest.  Ryan has Mom Mom's pack.

Here we are awaiting our Ranger lead tour of Lehman Caves.  Lehman Caves is a beautiful marble cave ornately decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, flowstone, popcorn, and over 300 rare shield formations.

Here our Ranger briefs us on stalactites, the ones hanging from the ceiling, and stalagmites, the ones growing from the floor up.

Over 300 shields are known to exist in Lehman Caves, more than any other cave in the world.

Lehman Caves is a beautiful limestone cave with charming and unusual formations.

You can see here that some areas of the cave are wide but there are a few places that you have to bend and stoop to get through.

The camera does not do justice to the beauty of the cave.   The elevation at the cave entrance is 6,825ft. The temperature in the cave is a constant 50° F (10° C) year round so a light jacket is recommended.

Here you can see a pool of water. There are several different pools throughout the cave.

These look a little like jellyfish you see in the ocean.  Others have said it looks like an elephant stepping in bubble gum.

These are rare tulip bulb formations. Lehman Caves is a window into the past. Information about past surface climates are preserved in the layers of cave formations, while much can be learned about natural history from the "treasures" in the cave itself.

A ranger had a telescope set up to view the sun.  We all took turn trying to find a sun spot or solar flare.

Here, Jake holds a board during a demonstration on the phases of the moon.  Here at Great Basin the night skies are among the darkest in the country so we decided to attend the stargazing program.  We had a great time viewing the Moon and Saturn where you could see its two rings.

Coast to Coast Grankids Tour - Lassen Volcanic NP (July 2011)

Here's the gang at the entrance to Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Lassen NP is the only place in the world to experience all four type of Volcano's.

Getting children involved and immersed in the park is especially important for our parks.  Here a Ranger explains why volcano's erupt and asks kids to assist her in demonstrating examples of each type of eruptions.  The park ranger is really excited!

Here Jake assists in how a Plug Dome Volcano erupts.  Mt St Helen's is a Plug Dome type volcano.

We are at the Trail Head for the Cinder Cone Trail.  The hike is 4 miles round trip and takes you to the top and bottom of a Cinder Cone Volcano. 

The hike is considered moderately strenuous due to the 700 foot elevation that you gain in the accent. The hike took us about 3-4  hours to complete.

The hike begins along fantastic lava beds, opens up with the views of the painted dunes and becomes steep with loose cinder base during the summit climb.   On this picture, Jake is about 1/3 up the hill and Kathy is just getting started.

Here we are resting after having made it up the loose cinder base where you take two steps to only gain one as you slide back down the loose cinder base.  Although, it did not seem to affect Ryan and Jacob. Maybe it's time to lose some weight.

Since Ryan was in training for his upcoming football season, he decides to hike down into the volcano base wearing both backpacks.  Jake is elated that he does not have to carry any of the packs or maybe he's leading a cheer for Ryan.

We are starting our trip down inside the cinder cone.  The trip down was fairly easy one, but I know what to expect on our hike out.

The boys and I are elated and celebrate our accomplishment.  Now who's turn is it to carry the pack?

This video shows the top of the volcano.  You can see in the video that there are many trails at the top of the Volcano. 

Here we are at the entrance to Subway Cave.  You can walk the entire length of the cave with a flashlight.

Subway Cave is a section of lava tube less than a third of a mile long, located between two areas of ceiling cave-ins. Substantial concrete steps have been constructed at both ends of the cave, providing easy access for visitors to access the cave.

Coast to Coast Grandkids Tour - Redwoods NP (July 2011)

During our drive to Redwoods NP in Klamath CA, we decided to take a side trip step into the Pacific Ocean.  The water was quite chilly as well as the ocean breeze. 

A video of our Pacific Ocean encounter.

More than one hundred million years ago, redwood forests spanned much of the earth's northern hemisphere.  Since the ice age, however, these "living fossils" have returned to a few distinct regions of the globe.  We are very fortunate they live and grow in our country.

Most visitors know Redwoods National and State Parks as home to the world's tallest trees, many spanning over 300 feet in height.  It would have looked more real if Kathy actually had her left hand on the tree!

Here we are walking along the Lady Bird Johnson Grove, one of the most popular trails in Redwood National Park.

When you stand among these giants, you get a feeling of just how small we are compared to the giant Redwoods.  Many of these trees will live 1500 years.

In this picture, you can see just how wide some of the trunks can be.  This one is about 7-feet in diameter.  The bark on these trees can reach 12 inches thick or more.