A. Broad Abroad: So Much Time, So Little to Say!

I have 2 National Parks and a State Park to update you on! Bryce Canyon National Park is still gorgeous, of course! It's Mom's favorite and she hadn't been since she and Doc took their honeymoon 32 years ago. We took some fabulous hikes and saw all kinds of beautiful hoodoos, a waterfall, and some wildlife. Lots of Pronghorns, Prairie Dogs, and birds. Speaking of birds - the photo that looks like it doesn't have a lot going on in a pine tree deserves a closer look. There's a bird hanging upside down to eat the pine cone. The weather was kind of a shocker to us, we went from being in the 80's in Zion to suddenly getting out of the car in 50 degree weather! Mom and I are cold blooded folks, so we immediately pulled out our scarves and gloves (yes, we packed those!). You would have thought we were touring the Yukon in February.

It is rare to find a National Park that none of the Doc clan has visited, but Capitol Reef was one such place... until a few days ago. The last park we went to with the Mrs. turned out to be lovely beyond belief. It isn't a very trafficked park, and that was even with it being the first day of summer (free for that reason, kinda cool). Didn't do a lot of hiking there because of timing, but did some touristing. Of course Doc and the Mrs. touristed with Diet Coke in hand, A. Broad is not a Coke-aholic. After the park, we drove Mom to Salt Lake City to send her home. Just A. Broad and Doc for 5 weeks - God have mercy on us. Mrs. Doc has a bet pool going about which of us makes it home. If you would like to get involved in that pool, you can contact her.

Our plan after Salt Lake was to go to Dinosaur National Monument and Quarry, but a little research into the park showed that it isn't open again until October. Major bummer! So we rerouted to Evanston, the awesome little town we stopped in on the way out. Went to their little museums, which include a replica of the West's first Chinese Joss House (temple). Very neat history. They have a whole reconstructed museum of the Joss House dedicated to Chinese railroad workers. Also stopped at a thrift store across the street that we stopped at on the way out. The woman is such a trip and everything is super reasonably priced. Bought some cool goodies for myself and to pass on to other people. Now we are camping in Lander, WY at Sinks Canyon State Park. I visited here in 2008 with an Outdoor Student Leadership workshop via Indiana Campus Compact. Doc hadn't been here before - and I've since been informed that what I just thought was pretty and neat is actually a rare Geologic phenomenon! Do I know how to pick them or what? I, of course, pulled one of those, "Yeah! That's why I brought you here!" fibs. Cut me some slack, I never get to show HIM stuff!