GimletBlog

The last time we have to get to do this:  see a complete photo album from our summer vacation in the Gimlet Gallery.  We hope you enjoyed following along our route!

On the drive north to the GrandGimlets, we saw a billboard which read, “Moab:  Where Adventure Begins“.  We would add another billboard, “Logan:  Where Adventure Ends“, which we really do mean as a good thing, even if it doesn’t sound so great.   The Things were happy to have two days without driving where they could relax and play with their cousins, and we ran a few errands around town.

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Peaceful, scenic photos in the Gimlet Gallery.

The final hotel on our Southwest odyssey was Ruby’s Inn, which has been welcoming guests to Bryce Canyon since 1916.  Team Gimlet had mostly good experiences with their lodging along the way, and Ruby’s Inn was a highlight; with plenty of shops, entertainment, and activities, it was a fun place to stay.  As with Moab at the beginning of our journey, we’d like to return to Ruby’s Inn and stay a little longer.

Unfortunately that evening a few of us experienced a touch of altitude sickness (Bryce Canyon is at 8000 feet, and most of the viewpoints are well above that) but a good night’s sleep and our faithful water bottles helped prepare us for the next day’s tour of the canyon.

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It’s like being forced to watch vacation slides!  See all the photos in the Gimlet Gallery.

We had decided to stay inside Grand Canyon National Park to give ourselves the most visiting time; our budget, family size, and room availability sent us to the Yavapai Lodge complex on the outskirts of the Grand Canyon Village.  It wasn’t the El Tovar in looks or proximity to the South Rim, but it was clean and comfortable and suited Team Gimlet just fine.  Still running on Philmont time, we woke up at sunrise (who would have guessed that a scout camp would be populated by lunatics, a.k.a. unbelievably cheerful morning people?  But out of necessity we got used to it, and by way of disclosure we must admit that Your Humble Narrator is the only non-morning member of Team Gimlet.).

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More travel photos in the Gimlet Gallery!

We spent the next morning in Moab shopping for souvenirs.  We found a delightful quilting shop across the street from our motel (more details are forthcoming on Sinister Craftiness), and a bookstore that would be an excellent resource for local maps.  Team Gimlet definitely wants to return to Moab, perhaps on a school break, and spend more time exploring.

After lunch it was time to get back in the car and drive, drive, drive.  But wait!  A few minutes out of town we were lured to stop by large signage for “Hole N The Rock”, and we remembered it was the location of a penny machine, so of course we had to pull over.

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See more dinosaurs and red rocks in the Gimlet Gallery.

After a quick sleepover at the grandGimlets’ house, we were on the road again.  The smog was especially bad along the Wasatch Front, and after lunch at one of our old favorites, Brick Oven, we were glad to get away from the more populated areas and drive through the canyons.  (Little did we know that “brick oven” would be an apt description for our day’s destination.) (more…)

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Greetings from Philmont!  Looks like we have WiFi, even if the network does chastise us for being online instead of enjoying the great outdoors.  Our trip began last Thursday; the first leg of the journey was the same route we travel about twice a year to visit the grandGimlets, so it’s very familiar.  There were fewer cars on the road than usual, and the weather was much cooler and greener than past summer drives.  Thing Two slept through most of Idaho, including our traditional dinner break in Mountain Home, so the rest of Team Gimlet ate in the car while he slept.  The rest of the trip promises to be more exciting.

As we do intend to do some hiking and other fun things this week, bear with us as it may take a while to upload photos to the Gimlet Gallery and post the corresponding blog entries.  But right now we’re spending the afternoon typing away from inside Camp Gimlet, forced inside the tent by a New Mexico rainstorm:  just the thing to cool off, and perfect blogging weather.

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It’s time for Team Gimlet to hit the road and drive to Philmont!  It seems a little odd to drive east when our destination is the Wild West, but we already knew those of us who live in this part of the country are a little different.  Our first travel day will proceed along our usual route, and then we’ll head further south and east to visit southern Utah and the Four Corners area.  After a week in northern New Mexico, we’ll head west to the Grand Canyon, then north through Utah where we’ll spend a few days with the grandGimlets, and home again in time for Thing One to get his cast off.

We’ll post photos and updates as WiFi availability permits; otherwise it will be pretty quiet around GimletBlog until we reach Cache Valley, a much-needed oasis of many good things (grandparents, Aggie ice cream, free laundry, and Internet access, to name a few).

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Our summer just got more exciting:  The Gimlet has been invited by our local scout council to attend a conference at the Philmont Training Center near Cimarron, New Mexico.  Invitations are limited to the top volunteers from around the country, so The Gimlet is honored that the scout council has offered him this opportunity.  As he attended Philmont as a scout Back In The Day, he is also delighted that Thing One will be able to participate in a very unique and memorable scouting experience.

During the week-long conference, Team Gimlet will be busy:  Thing Two can attend a preschool program which includes pony rides; Thing One will be eligible to take a 20-30 mile backpacking expedition through Philmont’s backcountry (with rock climbing, gold-panning, and other activities along the way); and Your Humble Narrator is looking forward to taking in the history, art, and culture of the Southwest, as well as day hikes and horse rides.

We’ll be driving to Philmont, so it’s time to dust off our National Park Passport and visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Arches and Zion National Parks in Utah, and any other monuments or parks we happen to drive past (there are quite a few!).  This vacation will test our tolerance for touring large holes in the ground, plus this is the first long driving trip we’ve taken since our Yellowstone expedition, pre-Thing Two.  Souvenir pennies will be squished, sunscreen will be slathered, and hopefully we’ll all be on speaking terms by the end of our desert odyssey.  Look for trip blogging or a wrapup report in July!

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