Utah...

The Trough Road was quite the trip!
Grampa white-knuckled it from Julie's to get us to Rifle, CO.
We looked out and were amazed at the views.
I heard later that Gramma kept saying, "Look, Phil!"
He responded by saying, "No."
I don't blame him. This view was one of the gorges where a train was passing through.

We didn't get the chance to stop to take better pictures, but for being out the window...
these are pretty cool!

At a rest area just entering Utah (probably the Visitor Center to get a free map),
Gabby and Owen ran around, climbed, and looked as far as the eye could see...One thing about this trip...Owen and Gabby (and the rest of us) had the opportunity to see so many different kinds of terrain...landscapes...beauty in all forms...Utah brought us to Arches National Park...after the kids went to bed,
I got to go see a late sunset...

Then, the next morning (after Owen found a 3-legged grasshopper...)

we all got to visit the park together.
The kids enjoyed the first stop and climbed and had a blast...

but after that, no snack or cajoling could convince them that they were seeing a National prize!
Appreciation for other things...hmmmm

The only thing that changed Owen's attitude a bit was seeing a desert lizard darting among the cactus...He has now learned that it is tough catching those little ones!

**For family who are curious...we were in California for 5 days (or so...it all melted together, this trip...) and then we saw the Grand Canyon. Today we saw New Mexico, a bit of Texas, the arm of Oklahoma, and are now in Kansas. I will be posting those pics soon enough!
We plan to be back to our point of origin by Saturday and home by Sunday...
MUCH more to come...