Camping at Bass Lake

Here is our campsite at Bass Lake. We have stayed at this campground five times and at this same exact site twice. We like it because there is plenty of room and plenty of shade.

We were there for three nights. Bass Lake is about a four and a half hour drive north of our house and just a little ways from Yosemite Park. One of these times we'll make our way to Yosemite.

Rosebud very much enjoys her relaxing time at the lake.

Sedona

After leaving Monument Valley we drove about four hours south to Sedona, Arizona. This is a beautiful area known for its stunning Red Rock vistas. Our first night we had barbeque food on an outdoor patio with a great view of Snoopy Rock across the street. You can see Snoopy lying on top of his doghouse on the right side of the image above.

The next morning we took Rosebud for a hike to Bell Rock which was just a couple of blocks from the hotel where we were staying. Because we were on vacation we didn't get a very early start. By the time we got going, after 10 a.m., it was already quite warm. Too warm for the dog it turned out. We made our way back to the hotel for some swimming and napping.

Later, we made it out for another attempt at hiking to Bell Rock and then climbing up as high as we could. Even at 6 p.m. it was still pretty warm so Rosebud had to wait for us back at the room.

Here is a shot of Aimee surveying the scene after making a courageous climb halfway up Bell Rock. I went a little bit further and we both got to enjoy some great views.

Sedona was a fantastic place to visit and we both look forward to visiting again sometime.

Monument Valley

Monday morning, after the wedding weekend, we headed West on I-70 into Utah and then South toward Monument Valley.

We arrived in the area at the same time as a pretty big windstorm. That was kind of unfortunate for us because the view on that highway is spectacular and much of it was obscured from us by all the sand blowing through the air. It was quite a surreal scene but not the one we were hoping for.

We checked into kind of an unusual accommodation. The campground contained RV sites, tent sites and this 'casita' that you see pictured here. We enjoyed it quite a bit. It was like a little house. Inside was a bedroom with a King, a full bathroom, a washer/dryer, a fully-equipped kitchen with dining area, a living room with couches and flat-panel TV and air conditioning. The outside, where we ate dinner both nights, had a deck with a partial view of the Valley floor.

We were there for two nights. During the day we took a trip into Monument Valley which straddles the Utah/Arizona border. The scenery was fantastic.

The bulk of the day was spent on a 17 mile drive into the heart of the park on an unpaved road that featured a dozen or so spots where you could park and walk around and take pictures and peruse local Navajo jewelry stands.

It was pretty warm but not too hot. Later that day we took Rosebud there for an early evening hike before dinner. They had a great 3 mile trail that goes completely around one of the large buttes.