Thanksgiving In Utah Not Throwing Rocks With Spencer Jack

That which you see here showed up last night, sent by Spencer Jack and his favorite dad, my eldest nephew, Jason.

I saw this photo and had zero clue as to what I was looking at, besides it appearing to be Spencer Jack and Jason on some sort of mass transit device.

Train, bus, trolley, tram, monorail? What? I had no clue.

And then a follow up email arrived, with more photos and a text message from which I could make a slightly educated guess as to what Spencer Jack is taking is dad for a ride on.

First the text message...

Spencer Jack and I had a mighty fine time exploring NV, AZ, and UT.

Spencer had this week off from school and desired a return trip to some of our favorite National Parks.

After a late night on the Las Vegas Strip, we headed north on I-15 and followed the Virgin River to Springdale, UT.

Hiked the Narrows in Zion, before climbing to Inspiration Point in Bryce.

Had my first, and hopefully, last, 'almost ran out of gas' moment.  That's another story.   Nonetheless, Spencer and I coasted into Richfield, UT on fumes and called it a night.

Have a Happy Turkey Day.

Thought you'd enjoy the pictures and video (and of course, we checked for hikers, before rock tossing).

-FUD and FNSJ

So, gleaning the info in the above text, and looking at the below photo of Spencer Jack, clearly in the Zion Canyon Narrows, I am guessing the above transit device, on which Spencer Jack and Jason are riding in scream mode, is a bus taking them into Zion Canyon. But, I thought that that traffic reducing means was only active during heavy duty tourist season. So, I may be erroneous in my transit assumption.

There is a big parking lot at the entry to the Zion Narrows. Every time I have been at that location it has been a bit of a challenge to secure a parking spot.

Moving on...

Above I am guessing Spencer Jack is swimming at the motel he and his dad spent the night in in Springdale, the town at the west entry into Zion National Park.

Continuing on...

Here we see Spencer Jack at Inspiration Point in Bryce National Park. The text message indicates a climb was required to reach Inspiration Point. I do not remember a climb. Instead I remember a walk from a parking lot. I do remember a climb via the Navajo Loop, which, if I remember correctly, has its trail head near Inspiration Point.

Bryce Canyon is at a high elevation. In the 8,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level type high elevation. I remember the Navajo Loop hike being incredibly scenic, with multiple other trails, like Peek a Boo, accessed from the Navajo Loop. I also remember the series of switchbacks back to the starting point being brutal, what with extreme oxygen debt.

Bryce Canyon National Park is my favorite of the Utah National Parks.

And below we have the video mentioned by Spencer Jack and his dad in their text message. I really do not think the boys were so irresponsible as to throw rocks off the Inspiration Point edge. That would be an extremely bad thing to do....