A day of stupendous quotations from (mostly) the little people...and another swimming hole in the middle of these Utah canyons. We embarked from Panguitch, UT this morning after spending one night in the KOA. The kids were a bit disappointed that the pool hours were 1pm - 8pm. We did anchor down next to some local residents last night who showed up this morning with fresh bass that they gutted on our shared picnic table. Very appetizing. Julie had a juice smoothie and the kids took down the Cocoa 'Bumpers' (an organic version of Cocoa Crisps).

The drive took about 2 hours today, but through some beautiful canyons. We are staying in Bryce Canyon tonight and hoping for some good weather to hike in the morning.

Some of our favorite quotes today:

"Hey, I've got your poop cup ready". (Reed) Let me explain. Once we decided to take to the lake (reservoir) and do some swimming we had some biking to do. It was not far, but it was somewhat 'off road', which for our group was a challenge already. Reed flying off the side of the mountain and Edward thinking he could keep up. It's always tough keeping us together (thanks to Julie for always staying with E while I'm catching up to Reed to pull back the reigns). Anyway, we get to the swimming hole and about 20 minutes into a wonderful afternoon Edward says he has to go to the bathroom. His nickname is 'Deuce' (confusing when trying to figure out what kind of bathroom break we need) so we ask "is it liquids only" (code for 'acceptable' in the RV). He says no (it's #2), so we've got an issue. We (the whole group) debate how he's going to do his business without risking our quick return trip around the water and eventually land on the great idea that he'll poop in a cup (it was one that we found). He's very excited but gets a little anxious about it in the end so I put him on my bike and make it back to the ranger station for a civilized facility.

"That bathroom is nicer than our house". (Annie) As you know, the quest for clean (private) restrooms has become a bit of an obsession. We found the best possible Utah pork barrel project when we stumbled upon the Escalandes Visitor Center. It's probably about a $2million facility in the middle of nowhere with LEED certified handicap accessible pristine restroom facilities. There was a retiree behind the counter with a bunch of brochures and conference rooms that could not have been used a dozen times since the little oasis was built in 2006. The little puff of air freshener was on a timer and the lights were motion detected. Top shelf.

"Do they have a handicap shower"? (Edward) When we got to the restaurant tonight Edward wanted to know what the bathrooms were like back at the camp. Since he had stayed in the Grit with me when Julie checked in, Annie was giving her report. Edward proceeds to explain to our table that he's found that the handicap showers are the best, because you can run right into them and they're huge. I asked that he please not sit in the chair if there happens to be one.

"He eats like a grown man". (Annie) Tonight we ordered from the Ruby Inn Diner (it's a buffet). They bring out the menus and we proceed to place our orders and the Edward asks for the Rainbow Trout with rice and broccoli. The waitress is a bit perplexed but Annie explains to her that he's a bit more refined and that he can handle it. Sure enough, he takes down most of the meal. But let's be clear...he eats like a 6 year old even though he orders like a grown man.

"I'm going to kiss the toilet when we get to Crested Butte". (Julie) This produced a lot of laughter (borderline obnoxious) from our table at the end of dinner. It was more an expression of anticipation for the end of this portion of the road trip than anything, but it was hilarious. Pretty proud of Julie for holding out this long to drop something like that on us. She's tougher than you think.



The moose from yesterday's drive:



For anyone who thinks I'm exaggerating the organic grocery tales (Julie)...here is photographic evidence from the Jackson Whole Grocer:

Another little RV nugget...the unidentified green plastic we pulled out of the septic pump: