Glendale, Utah ~ Zion National Park ~ Bryce Canyon National Park

After Las Vegas we headed to Glendale, Utah. Why Glendale, Utah? Has anyone ever heard of Glendale? I sure hadn't but Glendale is half way between Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park and there was a KOA campground there.

We stopped in St. George, Utah for lunch at Cracker Barrel. Lunch was yummy and Abi loved sitting in the rocking chairs out front.

After lunch we headed to the first Mormon Temple that was completed in Utah. Big and beautiful, of course.

Then off to Glendale. We decided that we were going to rough it by camping but we still wanted a few comforts of home, like, clean (enough) showers that you don't have to make work by adding quarters to a timer, electricity and last but certainly not least, wireless internet. Despite being in the middle of now where the campground was nice, pretty empty and quiet.

I had checked weather.com before leaving and while in Las Vegas to see what the overnight low temperatures were and the reports said 50 degrees or so with the highs 70-80 degrees. I thought that sounded great, until we got there. I asked the lady at the campground what the temperatures were at night and she told me the overnight low was 29 degrees the night before!!! So needless to say we were a bit cold, luckily we had bundled Abi up and layered tons of blankets on top of her.

Other than the cold the campground was great.  The trees were starting to change color and when the wind blew through the trees it sounded like rain, which I loved.

Our site was right next to a horse pasture with beautiful and friendly horses. When we were setting up camp Abi was in her "pop-a-tot" (see picture) and loved watching the horses or to her they were "das" (dogs). One in particular always came up to the fence to talk to Abi. Abi even got to pet the horse a few times.

The first full day in Utah we headed to Zion National Park. The drive is gorgeous and so nice to see that Fall had reached Utah since Fresno still doesn't totally look like Fall. Zion National Park has a scenic drive that is open to all traffic, well it has to be because it is the only road from St. George to Glendale and that part of Utah, if you go around it takes much longer.

We came across a herd of long horn mountain sheep on the side of the road.  Pretty cool.  We pulled over and while Josh took a ton of pictures I fed Abi breakfast sitting in the trunk.  Breakfast with a view, not bad!

On the way to Zion Canyon where the visitor center and Lodge is there is a long tunnel, a 1.1 mile long tunnel, and the tunnel isn't straight it curves. If you are an over-sized vehicle then you have to have an escort, and that means delays for the rest of traffic. Oh well, we had to wait a few times and when an RV would go through we would follow and get to drive in the center of the tunnel. The tunnel is so long and dark that they have side tunnels cut through the mountain to give light (and maybe a good view) to the drivers.

Zion Canyon is closed to traffic so you have to park at the visitor center and take shuttle buses into the canyon. This is where traveling with a one year old gets tricky. You have to bring all that you'll need for 3 people in a backpack. We brought our umbrella stroller which doesn't have a ton of storage and the stuff would have to be pulled out each time we got on the bus anyway so I carried the backpack with lunch, snacks, abi's things and whatever else we thought we would need for a day of exploring.

The First stop we made in the Canyon was Weeping Rock. It is considered one of the shortest hikes, only .25 mile, but it climbs over 100 feet in that distance. The map also said it was a "paved" trail. . . . well it was paved but very rough and not very easy to push the stroller. The view was pretty and very wet. The ranger said snow falls on top of the mountain above and when the snow melts it seeps into the sandstone cliffs and eventually drips out creating Weeping Rock. It also supposedly takes this water 1500 years to make it from the top of the cliff to where we were, so the water dripping on our heads was 1500 years old.

When were heading back to the shuttle bus stop we walked past a guy with his camera staring at the dirt. . . .we asked what he was looking at and he said a tarantula. I have seen plenty of huge hairy spiders but they were always in the zoo or my science classes, but never a "wild" tarantula (picture above on the right hand side). So needless to say, kinda creepy but luckily we were not camping there.

Next on the shuttle tour we headed to the River Walk Trail, another "paved" trail that followed the Virgin River back into the canyon. The canyon was too narrow for buses/cars that if you want to see more you have to walk along the river. The trail was very nice but certainly not paved like the map said, it was packed dirt in some places and sand in others. If we would have know this before we would have left the stroller in the car and used the baby backpack, oh well. Abi got a quick nap while we walked and got to the end of the trail. You can walk farther back into the canyon but you have to walk through the river. You would need water shoes and i didn't want to take Abi that far back, some day we might.

After the River Walk, we were pretty tired and HOT!  We took the shuttle to the Zion Lodge, we wanted to relax on the lawn outside the lodge and get something to drink.  While Josh was in line getting a soda Abi made friends with a little boy named Jackson, he was 8 months old, and a very BIG boy.  The two of them crawled all over together and had a great time.  It was nice for Abi to connect with other kids while we were gone since she spent 2 weeks with just Josh and I.

When we were getting stuff ready to head to Bryce Canyon one morning Abi decided to attempt climbing into the car. She really likes to "drive", Josh supervised her attempt and as you can see she made it onto the seat, without any help.

The drive to Bryce Canyon was just a pretty as the drive to Zion.  Before ever entering the park there are beautiful red rock formations and tunnels cut through the rock.

Bryce Canyon is very beautiful, we choose not to take any hikes that went down into the canyon, too hard with an extra 20lb baby to carry somehow.  We stuck to the rim trails, a few parking lots with trails headed toward the canyon and then along it for a while.
After hiking around for a while we decided to drive along the canyon, it was an 18 mile road that stops at the end of the canyon.  We stopped for some lunch at one of the lookouts and stopped at a few more before getting to the end.  One of the lookouts had a view of a natural arch, pretty cool.  On the way to the last lookout at Rainbow Point Abi finally fell asleep, but I still wanted to get out and look around.  So I took a very sleepy Abi out of the car and walked around with her sleeping on my shoulder.  Rainbow Point is at 9100 feet, so from fresno which is at 300+ feet above sea level we have traveled pretty high up in the sky!

The 18 mile drive was nice, the trees were changing colors and there were great views of the canyon. Then drove to a place that Josh heard about while two guys were talking in the bathroom, I know, i thought that only women overheard things in the bathroom but I guess guys do too!
The place Josh heard of was the Mossy Cave and waterfall hike, it was outside the park but pretty close and the hike got you inside parts of the canyon and you get a different perspective of the rock formations.  For this hike we put Abi in the baby backpack and Josh got to carry her.  The hike was beautiful, and not a huge elevation change.  Bryce Canyon is a pretty dry area in the summer, it does get some snow in the winter but during the summer there is one creek that is full of water from a spring.  There is a waterfall that is maybe 15 feet tall but sooooo pretty.  After the view of the waterfall you can hike up the hill a bit to get to the mossy cave.  Needless to say that Josh was very happy he overheard a conversation in the bathroom that lead us to this beautiful little place.

This is it for this part of the trip, stay tuned for the next exciting adventure to. . . .the North Rim, Grand Ganyon.

Shark Reef Aquarium ~ Mandalay Bay ~ Las Vegas

Our last night in Las Vegas we drove to Mandalay Bay on the strip, they have a Shark Reef Aquarium. It was pretty cool, not super authentic like other aquariums we have been to but very nice. The best part was Abi's reaction to the huge tanks. She loved standing at the glass looking, pointing and laughing at the fish. She cried when we pulled her away but we did just to take her to another tank.

Las Vegas So Far

Day 1 of our vacation was full of driving, not so much fun we left fresno about 8:40am and made it to the resort about 4:30, not be bad, we thought. Abi wasn't too thrilled with being in the car that long but she survived. The Vue was PACKED to the brim and we even had my dad's car-top carrier to hold all the camping gear for next week.

The room is great, big and modern looking. the bathroom is huge, larger than abi's bedroom. It has a large soaker tub with a tv and a large marble tiled shower. There is a closet just big enough for abi's pack-n-play which is great becuase she can't see us when she's trying to fall asleep.

Sunday morning we left early for Hoover Dam. I had seen the Dam years ago but josh hadn't seen it before. Leaving early was a great idea because when we left a few hours later traffic was backed up A LOT on the 2 lane road, we would have waiting a long time for a tour but we ended up being the 2nd tour of the day. Since we had Abi with us we coudn't do the Dam tour but could do the power plant tour.

The biggest difference for me this time was seeing a HUGE arched bridge (http://www.hooverdambypass.org/) being built across the Black Canyon over the Colorado River. We drove across the Dam for the last time, once the bridge is completed the dam will be closed to thru traffic.

Sunday Night we went down to the strip and walked around. Abi loved seeing all the people and lights. We walked from Mandalay Bay to Bellagio to watch the water fountain dance to music, soo cool, abi liked it too.

Monday after lunch Abi and I spent some time at the pool before nap time. Abi loved the water, she was totally cold but kept crawling back into the water. The first 6-8 feet into the pool was only a few inches deep and had lounge chairs all around the pool. the few inches of water was great for abi to play in.


Here a few cute pictures of Abi from the bathtub and playing with her poker chips on the bed, i wonder what she was betting on?

Wednesday night Josh had another dinner so Abi and i took a drive to Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. It is only a few miles up the road from the resort and a beautiful place. There is a 13 mile scenic drive, picnic areas, hiking and off roading trails. Evening wasn't the best time to go but it is the time we had, i imagine some of the red cliffs would be much more vibrant if the sun was shinning on them verses behind them.

I think that is it for now. We are planning on going to the Shark Reef Aquarium this evening at Mandalay Bay and we'll have pictures to post later. Then off to Glandale, Utah KOA campground and Zion NP and Bryce Canyon NP.

Abi's First Ever Birthday Party

Last Friday we celebrated Abi's 1st birthday. Since we left for vacation on Saturday morning (her actual birthday) we had her party Friday night at Josh's parents house. Having it there was so helpful since we were packing. Thursday night i went over to Monica's house to work on the cake. She baked the cakes and laid the chocolate fondant on the cakes then i got to work on the fun stuff, decorating. I spent probably 3+ hours placing fondant flowers and dots on her cake. It turned out so beautiful and delicious. I love this picture of my friend Kristin and her son Alexander. And the one of Denise and is cute except for Abi not having a good time at that moment. The picture of us 4 mommies is in the same order as the picture we took at my baby shower last summer ( http://joshandstephmikow.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html) now we all have babies and thought it would be nice to have a before and after picture.

Abi wasn't quite sure what to do with her cake. She took a few bites, tried to share with Ethan and was done. I guess she wanted to open presents instead.

She had lots of fun opening gifts. Of course she loved the tissue more than some gifts but that's ok. She got some cute clothes, great toys and lots of tissue. she can't wait to get home so she can play with all her new toys.

365 Days of Abigail Lauren Mikow

Our goal for Abi's first year was to take at least 1 picture each day. Here they all are 365 days of pictures. Its amazing to see the changes from day 1 to day 365. I am putting all these pictures in one book seperate from her baby book so they are all in one place.
Enjoy!

The Many Faces of Abi in September

A whole year has come and gone since Abi has come into our lives. It is as they say that time flies (espicially when having fun). I LOVE being a mommy, espicially Abi's. This year has been a learning experience and so much more joy than i thought possible. So many people told me that the first year would be really hard and yes some times it may have been but over all this year hasn't been that hard. We are very blessed to have a healthy baby, that slept thru the night early on and took to a schedule. I am so thankful that God has provided a job for Josh that allows me to stay home. i hope you all have enjoyed these collages as much as we do!

The Many Faces of Abi in August

The Many Faces of Abi in July

Pismo and Camping in San Simeon

After Chris and Amelia's wedding we were able to spend some time in Pismo. We arrived very late Saturday night and Josh's parents got our room all ready so when we got there we could just go to bed. In the collage is a picture of the daddy's and their girls Sunday morning. As you can see Abi found toilet paper to play with and the recycle bag with all the empty water bottles. one of the afternoons that week we drove to Montana de Oro while Abi and Josh slept in the car. i got to roam around to take a few pictures of the beautiful coast line. and visit one of my favorite fabric stores in Morro Bay.

Friday morning we woke early (of course) and packed up the truck. Next we were on the road again up the coast to San Simeon. Josh and I never camped together, we both grew up camping in tents but then we learned the art of "fancy camping" (38 1/2 foot trailer, cable TV,wireless internet, full size fridge, washer and dryer, in Pismo Coast Village. . . ). So we bought a tent and decided to make our first tent camping experience even more fun by adding a baby to the mix. we were not sure how Abi would like camping. . .the verdict? she did great!!! napping didn't really happen but that was ok we just drove around on Saturday so she could sleep in the car for a bit. we drove up the coast to a place on the beach where elephant seals gather. there were sooooo many seals. Abi kept calling them "da, da" which is dog in her language. we even got a few pictures of some bulls fighting in the water. We had a great time camping with our Sunday school class, hanging out at the beach and having great food.

Over all our camping experience went very well. we hope to continue the camping tradition as Abi gets older. We are even camping in September in Utah and Arizona for 8 days.

Chris & Amelia's Wedding

On the 4th of July our friends Chris and Amelia tied the knot! We normally would be in Pismo for the 4th but we sacrificed our vacation plans for our friends wedding, plus i was asked to be a bridesmaid! We still decided to leave for our vacation after the wedding and drive to Pismo late Saturday night. We had LOTS of packing to do Saturday morning before driving to Visalia. Not only were we spending the week in Pismo we were also camping in San Simeon with our Sunday School class the next weekend. My parents watched Abi all day until they drove down for the wedding, which made the day a little easier knowing that Abi could get a good nap in before the wedding. We got our hair done in the morning and got to hang out a while before pictures, it was a pretty relaxing day. Amelia looked beautiful and the wedding was very nice, except for the 100 degree heat.

The Many Faces of Abi in June

Steph's Birthday Gift

Last Thursday (the 11th) was Steph's birthday and I wanted to surprise her with a memorable gift that I haven't been able to giver her in a while. We have been quite busy and Steph (and I) had really wanted to get some time on the beach.

For her birthday I gave her a hilarious card (about a Lobster Tale) that informed her about her activities for the 12th. We were going to have lunch at Brad's in Pismo Beach and enjoy the day at the coast!

We left around 8:30am and got to Avila Valley Barn around 11am to browse the fresh food and see the animals. Once we had browsed the food, Steph fed Abi in the car and I went around to take some pictures of the animals. The baby goats were very cute and fun to watch jump around their pen.


From Avila we went to Pismo Beach. Lunch was at Brad's and it was good. I don't care what other's say, Brad's is the best! We then took a walk on the beach and let Abi play in the sand for a while. She enjoyed it and started crawling in the sand towards the end.

From the beach we went to a park we had heard of on Wadsworth on the top of one of the Pismo hills. We put Abi in a swing for little kids and she loved swinging back and forth. I think we're going to have to find a way to get a swing in our back yard.


Below are some pics from the top of the hill. It would be a great place to watch fireworks but it must be packed on the 4th of July!

Abi Eating Cheerios

This is how Abi eats cheerios:

Step 1: shove hand into cup as far as it will go.

Step 2: insert cheerio into mouth

Step 3: show cheerio off so mom and dad can see

Abi Loves the Bath

Abi loves the bath and she doesn't even have to be in it to enjoy it!
You will need to turn your laptop or monitor on its side or tilt your head (i couldn't figure out how to rotate a video) anyway enjoy!

Our New Tent

A few months ago we bought a tent so we could raise Abi right by exposing her to real camping, not the "fancy camping" that we really like in Pismo. We will be camping for the first time as a family in San Simeon the weekend after 4th of July with our Sunday school class. we will be fancy camping the whole week before and will drive up the coast to experience "real" camping. we needed to set up the tent ahead of time so we knew what we were doing. Abi loved playing in it and as you can see from the pictures she was reading the directions to us and helping us put it together. Watch the video, its kinda long but abi was very determined to get my sunglasses, so i decided to have a little fun with her.

Abi and Ethan Climbing Stairs

A week and half ago jolie and i were in the atrium at church while the guys helped load a piano into josh's truck. the kids were crawling around and abi found the stairs. i let her get on the first step and she looked back to me to get approval, i joined her on the steps and let her keep going. she was about half way when ethan decided to follow suit, then her passed her up and made it to the landing before abi reached it. they were both very proud to reach the top.

The Many Faces of Abi in May

Yosemite

To celebrate the cookbook being finished and the month of May being over we decided with Jon, Jolie and Ethan to take a day trip to Yosemite. The weather was great, cloudy, cold and raining, just the way we like it!

We started our day at Glacier Point. We walked to the point and enjoyed the beautiful views, especially before the clouds covered half dome. But before they did using our new wonderful lens for the camera i could see LOTS of people on top of half dome.

We had lunch and made our way down to the valley. On our way there were a ton of cars parked on the side of the road and we soon found out why, there was a brown bear roaming in the meadow. Once we made it down to the valley we also saw lots of dear in the meadows. They were in a couple different places but i grouped the pictures with the bear. There was a funny sign we kept seeing everywhere "Speeding Kills Bears", i thought cars or people kill bears not speeding. . . .and what about killing dear??? my dad has has a couple run-ins with dear not bears, hummm?

Here are a few pictures of the valley. All the falls were not as full as a few weeks before but still looked beautiful.

one last cute picture of abi that didn't make it into the collage

Abi & Galilee

Josh's cousins were in Fresno for a while before heading back to Ethiopia where they are missionaries. They have a little girl named Galilee that is one day older than Abi. They got along so well and were always very excited to see another baby. Here a two pictures of them playing and enjoying each other's company.

Denise's Graduation and Party

The month of May was a busy month, but Denise graduated from Fresno State with a degree in interior design and we needed to celebrate!

I hosted a party with my mom at our house for all Denise's close friends and our family. It was a great night, great weather and delicious food.