Big Truck Across America - day 3

Day 3 started out like a champ.  Jordan and I got up early and looked at the stars.  We were so remote and far from and light pollution the moon looked like the one from Joe vs the Volcano.  After we snapped a quick shot of the Big Truck in it's campsite (with Giraffe on security detail on the dashboard, slowly earning his keep),

we set out to watch the sunrise over the canyon.  Jordan was an excellent trail guide, choosing the way down the path that would give us the optimum viewing angle.



This was our reward:

After the sunrise, we packed up and cruised down to the visitor's center, which still wasn't open yet.  We walked down to the observation platform, where we discovered that Kimberly and I differ by orders of magnitude on Jordan's safety when it comes to nature.  Jordan was more concerned about how to get across the platform by only stepping on rocks.  Here she is teaching me the finer points of balance, and then we got the timer shot of the Beutes and the gigantic canyon we had to ourselves for a sunset and sunrise.



We got back on the road by about 7:45am local time and beelined for Zion.  After Tuesday's fiasco on the back roads, we were in for a big day of highway miles, taking 70 to 15 across mesas, mesas, and a few more mesas.  Here's a couple of examples - extrapolate for about 8 hrs.

After some passionate and spirited discussion about accomodations, we found a campground just outside Zion that provided Jordan her 2 highlights of the trip thus far.  A playground and a pool.  Seeing the joy provided by a 10' purple plastic slide while behind it was a landscape that her dad has been crowing about since visiting 10 years ago really helped put this trip in perspective.  Here's Jordan demonstrating the proper weight transfer necessary for a playground wheelie - take note, future insurance agents...

For the conclusion of day 3, we snapped a couple of shots of the sunset over Zion and realized that although it had been a bit hectic getting here, there are many worse places for a family to be.

Day 4 - a planned day trip to Bryce Canyon, some tunnels, and Checkerboard Mesa...