Junior Ranger Report Team #3 – Josh

Editors note: Ok, so the end of our trip got away on us and we failed to publish the kids last blog posts! As there is a bit of content we will do them in two separate posts to catch up. Over to you Josh….

Welcome to Sequoia. Let’s start with the National anthem of Sequoia NP: “For the land of big trees”. Alright I’ll refocus. Mum says I’m getting off track. Sequoia NP is home to the largest trees in the world the Sequoia tree. We went to the campsite and set up. Then we went to see the General Sherman tree the biggest tree in the world. Then we continued the trail to an old cabin made from a hollow fallen over Sequoia tree. It has a bed, table and everything! Then that night we went to a ranger led program about the night sky. We saw the big dipper, the milky way and lots of other constellations. Me and dad stayed over after the program to look for shooting stars…Until we heard some rustling in the bushes which we thought was a bear. Naturally we left immediately. And yeah that’s it for Sequoia.

Welcome to the valley of DEATH. It’s called Death Valley for a reason. Hardly anything can survive here. First we went to the ironically named Devils golf course and you can actually hear the ground moving! Then we went to badwater basin. It has massive salt pans going for miles across. Then it was Dads turn to go on a solo hike. He went halfway across the salt pan without water in 46 degrees Celsius. Seriously. Being underwater is different than I remember. And HOORAY WE SURVIVED DEATH VALLEY!!! 

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas! We went to the campground and set up and took a swim in the pool. Then we went to the Circus Circus Casino. There we watched a trapeze show! They also have an indoor theme park with roller coasters and arcade! It’s called the adventure dome. Then in the night we went to see a miniature Eiffel Tower and Caesar’s palace! Then we went to see an artificial volcano erupt with fire and everything! Lastly we went to Fremont street and saw some really good cover bands. VEGAS BABY!!! 

Welcome to Bryce Canyon National Park. There are hoodoos everywhere! Hoodoos are tall skinny spires of rock. Hoodoo means “scary”. It makes sense because they look like they’re about to fall on top of you. Anyway, hoodoo you do?  Then we went to the Queens Garden/Navajo Loop trail. It’s a 3 mile trail that goes into a canyon and has an awesome view of the natural amphitheaters. Bryce is an awesome place to stargaze too.

Canyonlands is the best National Park for scenery that we’ve seen so far. The views over the canyon is just amazing! First we went to the white rim trail with a nice view of the canyon. Then we went to Whale Rock. It’s called Whale Rock because it looks like a whale (with some imagination). What’s a whale doing in the middle of a desert? I don’t know. Canyonlands also has an international dark sky award.

Welcome to Arches National Park. This place is full of hoodoos! (Just kidding,..arches). First we went to the Devil’s Garden trail. It has Landscape Arch,the longest arch in the USA, with a 306 foot span. It is a 6 mile round trip. Then we went to see Delicate Arch and a bunch of other arches. 

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Welcome to Mesa Verde, home of the ancient Peublo people. This place is full of cliff dwellings and pit houses. The cliff dwellings are built into alcoves with springs at the back. You had to rock climb to get into your house or hunting grounds, which makes me wonder if babies had to learn to rock climb before learning to walk.. Goo Goo, Ga GaAAAHHHH… SPLAT!!! Maybe that’s why half the kids didn’t make it to the age of five? We went on a tour of Balcony House. Balcony House has 2 Kivas and lots of stone rooms. A Kiva is a round stone room in the ground with a mud and wood roof. The door is a hole in the roof with a ladder. It’s also where the smoke escapes to keep out the bugs. All in all, the Pueblo people were a very advanced society.

Welcome to the not-so-Grand Canyon NP. First we went to the campsite and set up. Then we went to the visitor center to get some information about the place. Then we went to an overlook of Grand Canyon. I think that Canyonlands has a better view because it has  more of a far away perspective, while Grand Canyon is more up close. After that we went on a walk down into the canyon which  is like climbing an upside down mountain because you go down first and then up. Then we went on the Rim trail and did we go together as a happy thg family? HAHAHAHAHA No. Scott had to go to the bathroom AGAIN, so Scott and Mum had to go back on the shuttle bus to find a toilet while me and Dad did the trail, but other than that it was good – a nice trail along the rim of the Canyon. Then we went to Hermits Rest (ironically a major tourist attraction) and had lunch. They have the BEST Turkey sandwiches EVER!!! And yeah, that’s about it.

Last, but not least…welcome to Joshua Tree! I like calling the Joshua trees “Me trees” because my name is Joshua. Joshua Tree has a lot of life for a desert. There’s cacti, yucca and Joshua trees – all the spiky things. All spiky and vicious, just like me! There are also scorpions, tarantulas and the most vicious of all… the Bunny. First we went to the campground and set up the RV.  Then we spent an hour climbing and enjoying the nise sunset. The next morning we went on a ten minute walk, but it took an hour because we were so busy climbing! The rocks in Joshua tree are actually frozen magma. All in all we had a great time in Me-tree National Park.

It’s back to New Zealand now, so bye-bye America!

By Josh Verkaaik

JUNIOR RANGER SCOTT