TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

I fell behind with the blog. Sometimes we have to live life instead of writing about it. Also, no amount of words or photos can do justice to the spectacular scenery of Bryce, Zion, and the north rim of the Grand Canyon and all the surrounding area, which is so different from our home territory. Here's a review of highlights:

On Saturday, Oct. 25, we left Clint's house in Hagerman and drove to Chuck and Joanne Walrath's home in Ivins (St. George), Utah. We had time to detour into Nevada so that Mike could add a few Nevada geocaches to his list.

On Sunday, Oct. 26, Mike and I toured both Zion and Bryce National Parks. Chuck and Joanne had church but graciously allowed us to leave Nellie at their house since pets are not allowed on tour buses and most trails. It was a full day for us; we left Ivins about 9:00 a.m. and returned just before 9:00 p.m. The day involved a lot of driving as well as sight-seeing. We agreed we could only hope for an overview. [The photo on the left was taken in Zion; the one on the right is me trudging a trail in Bryce to the parking lot.]

The weather has been unseasonably warm. Morning temps in Ivins were in the 40s but the afternoons were very warm – in the 80s. I put on my sweatshirt in the morning, knowing full well I would need a T-shirt in the afternoon. However, I failed to put it in the car, and by noon I was uncomfortably warm. So, we stopped at a gift shop where I rummaged through a rack of clearance shirts and bought one with a modest-looking medallion on the front. I forgot to look at the back which carried the phrase, "I totally dominated the narrows at Zion National Park." "You did not!" said brother Chuck.

The next day, Monday, Oct. 27, Chuck and Joanne drove us to the north rim of the Grand Canyon – again another full day. Nellie rode along in the back and we left her in the van when pets were not allowed. We found a couple of geocaches in Arizona and walked some trails for scenic overlooks.

Tuesday, the 28^th, Chuck and I scanned family photos and copied the file to discs. Our focus was the Stinson-Sanders branch of our tree, our Grandmother Nina Mae Portfors' side of the family. I was grateful to accomplish this task as well as to have this day when we didn't drive anywhere. Mike took Nellie and went geocaching, then made a short bicycle tour of the area around the Walrath's location. Joanne took me to Michael's where I found some craft items I couldn't find in the LC Valley. Wednesday morning we said good-bye to the Walrath's and began our trek to the Mile High Warnock's.

I shared only a fraction of our pictures here -- those I thought would interest you most. It's a large post and I hope it configures itself well when I publish it.