BACK HOME AGAIN!

Hi All!

Our last update came to you from KY. We didn't drop off the end of the world, get trapped in a cavern, or fall into a canyon.

We traveled from KY to Pittsburgh to spend a day touring the downtown area. It was amazing to view pictures of 'the old days'. The pictures showed buildings that were black, day time pictures looked as though they were taken at midnight, and streets appeared to be in a heavy, dark fog. All that has changed for the better. The air is clear and the views of the city from the tops of hills is spectacular. And there are many hills, tunnels and bridges mixed with the three rivers of Pittsburgh to form the “Golden Triangle”. Another one of those places you don't expect to find anything special, but get pleasantly surprised.

Leaving Pittsburgh, we visited the Pocono's! Not be be missed! Well, OK we could have survived the trip without a visit to the Pocono's! George did have a little excitement while there! No, no heart shaped bed, no heart shaped hot tub, no heart attack, just another night of 'no nothing'! Except for an equipment malfunction! The computer got a bright white flash on the screen and then 'locked up'. I couldn't do anything with the system. It wouldn't re-boot, it couldn't be powered off, it just sat there with a blank screen! My 4:00am wake up gave me the opportunity to 'play' with the system. The battery was dead, so I powered the system from the power cord. All appeared to be good, so a quick backup of the hard drive was taken. All my files are safe, but the computer is still acting flaky and will require more attention!

We visited Nancy's family in NY and CT Saturday and returned home late Sunday. Now, it is back to the tasks of resetting clocks, grocery shopping, checking through seven week's worth of mail. Thanks to Gail's pre-sorting we only have a box full of mail. I've been looking at the leaves in the back yard, but I just can't bring myself back to reality to rake them.

All said, “IT WAS A GREAT TRIP AND EXPERIENCE!!!”

Now begins the task of compiling all the statistics! Drop one of us a note if you're interested in the details or just wait until we see you in person. We will be the ones pushing a shopping cart from the local grocery store with all the pictures and memorabilia we acquired!

And for our final statements: 

For us - 'What's next??' 

For you – 'You have to do it!!'

Thanx for following along. 

Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

George & Nancy

Cars, Quilts and Caves

We started Monday with a walk along the bank of the Tennessee River in downtown Paduach.

The river has flooded the city many times over the last century, so they have built a cement flood wall to hold back the water. Each panel of this barrier now has a painted picture depicting an historical event or period of Paduach. As more sponsors come forward, additional panels are painted. The project has turned an eye sore into a major attraction for the downtown area.

After our stroll along the waterfront, we shuffled off to the National Quilt Museum! One display that held my interest was a quilt carved from laminated basswood. It weighted about 60 lbs. and was displayed hanging on the wall just like any other quilt in the building. Fascinating to view while standing three feet away. For more details, check out the artist / quilter / carver's web site at WWW.GOFRASER.COM.

Nancy comments on the quilt museum are: the quilt exhibits were outstanding! The exhibits include a collection of antique quilts, tops and some clothing such as beautiful quilted petticoats. The more contemporary quilts featured AQS winners over the last 20 or so years that ranged from traditional to breath-taking art quilts. The miniature quilts defy description! Imagine pineapple squares that were not larger than one inch square with precise points and undulating patterns. Now, the downside. Who would figure that “Quilt City, USA” has only one small, very minimally stocked, quilt shop! I was truly challenged to find even just one bolt or fat quarter that would remind me of my visit. The town of Paducah is quaint and certainly working at becoming a destination but as far as a quilt mecca, it has a really long way to go.

We decided to stay off the large interchanges and take a scenic route through a state park reserve called 'The Land Between the Lakes'. This is a beautiful area of Kentucky and should not be missed. It is a 25 mile trip over the 'high land' between the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers before they join the Ohio River. The negative side of the route is that there are limited views of the water. To see the water, you must travel about one mile off the main road. These side roads tend to be NARROW! When you approach the waters, there are small hidden stops for fishing, picnics, hiking trails and some campsites.

We arrived in Bowling Green Monday evening and had dinner at Rafferty's, at the end of BG's main strip. Off to the Corvette Museum and a tour of the factory on Tuesday.

The visit to the NCM was great. It was nice to see many of the older pictures and get some pleasant flashbacks. My how time flies! Checked out a number of bricks! Even managed to turn a few over! The plant tour was quite interesting and provided a novel comparison to out tour of the Ford F150 plant in Dearborn near the beginning of our trip. The Ford plant produces about 450 vehicles per SHIFT, while the BG Corvette plant produces about 80 Vettes per DAY. Although both plants are very automated, the BG plant does have a lot of 'hands on' steps. Also interesting was the bell system used at BG. Every employee on the line has the ability / duty to pull a cord hanging next to every work station. Pulling the cord stops that section of the assembly line, sounds a tone unique to that particular work station, and brings the line foreman to that particular station to address to worker concern. We heard an alarm sound on three occasions during our 90 minute tour! The first time we heard the bells toll, we were at the station where the chassis and body come together. A rather hefty gentleman showed up about 30 seconds after the alarm began ringing. I saw the foreman arrive, turned my attention to the tour guide for about a minute, then looked back at the activity on the line. For the next 5 minutes, the foreman was reaching into the engine compartment from the front of the vehicle then from the area near the right front tire. The four foot long crowbar didn't quite fix the problem, a second (smaller) foreman handed the big guy a mallet! That seemed to fix the problem and the bell was shut off. 

Wednesday afternoon we went to the Mammoth Caves National Park. There were a variety of guided tours from which to choose, each being rated on levels of difficulty. Our options were Difficult to Strenuous, meaning at the very least more than 280 steep steps down and tight spaces and 2 hours in length. George decided that his knee would much prefer an above ground rest so Nancy took off for the New Entrance Cave tour, rated Difficult but not impossible! Nancy returned safe and sound, reporting that the tour was a pretty good workout, very interesting with a humorous guide and good views of stalactites and stalagmites. 

The Daily Planet and More

It's Sunday, and we made it to Paducah yesterday afternoon, just in time to help with locking the doors to the National Quilt Museum! Sew you know where we're heading today! Wrong! Saved by a couple we met while having breakfast. They were dressed in their 1700's garb to attend an Encampment event at the local state park and historic Fort Massac in nearby Illinois. They were heading back for today's continuing festivities! What luck! Their explanation and enthusiasm 'convinced' us to follow along! And you thought The Man doesn't look out for George! Guess again!

George's Saviors

You would not guess who we saw while driving to the encampment. That's right! We were in Metropolis, IL and standing on the pedestal outside town hall....was Superman! What luck again! How could my day get any better? Time will tell.

The Encampment was interesting. Many individuals, re-enactors, dressed in period outfits and carried historically accurate knives, pistols, and rifles. The re-enactors included British, French and U.S. Marines as well as Indians and pioneers. Several musical groups were in a tent performing and selling CDs, while other groups were marching to fife and drum on the parade grounds and/or firing their weapons and canons. Many of the participants camped on the grounds in canvas tents for the weekend and prepared meals over open fires using wrought iron utensils. Quite the dedicated group. 

One article we read, explained that the military uniforms could be valued at over $1,000 while other outfits were hand made by the re-enactors. There were numerous food and merchandise vendors attending. Some of the re-enactors were actually making their own wares, like the blacksmith, basket weaver and tanners. Thankfully, only a limited amount of 'Made in China' merchandise was offered for sale. Nancy did manage to pick up a trinket – pictures to appear in a future blog! I'm trying to build suspense!

So, our trip to the quilt museum is rescheduled for tomorrow! One can only drag his feet for so long.

Fleur de Lis Everywhere

Nancy and George - Until Tomorrow

St. Louis Arch

The arch is big! Approaching St. Louis, the most prominent structure is the Arch, reaching 630 feet into the sky. It is truly a man made marvel. The structure is a steel and cement sub-frame, covered by a series of stainless steel panels welded together. We watched a movie about the construction, (OK, so I only watched parts of the presentation. One does need their beauty rest!) and rode in a very tiny pod to top of the arch.

The movie consisted of movie clips of the construction and explanations but the principles applied to the design. It was interesting to see the construction people moving around the steel structure without any safety harnesses or netting below them. I think that I would have been bringing magnets to work in my pockets and lunch pail each day. It was interesting that there was not a single fatality throughout the entire construction process.

The ride to the top revealed our recent rides through the mountains of the west. The pod had two sliding doors, each with a slit window that opened to reveal 5 seats arranged in a very cozy 'U' configuration. We shared the pod we a couple and their 4 or 5 year old daughter. The youngster was the only one who could sit up straight in her seat. My guess is that the designer of the pods was less than 5 feet tall! The trip in the pod takes 4 minutes to reach the top and 3 minutes to get back down. Enough said! When reaching the observation station at the top, if you do manage to open your eyes, the views were spectacular! We were fortunate to have a bright clear day!

The base of the arch contains a extensive display of the Lewis and Clarke expedition. The exhibit rivals the displays of the Route 66 artifacts. These two historical 'things' are the West's version of 'George Washington Slept Here' on the East Coast! So much for George's history lesson. Now it's off to Paducah for a real lesson!

I almost forgot! We did make it to the Classic Cars Auction north of St. Louis. They had 167 vehicles to sell! We watched about a dozen cars run through the auction line, but not many being sold. As the cars drove off the line, they were offered a sign for their window to indicate that the car was still for sale. Most owners did take the signs and parked in the large lot outside the auction house. Quite an event. I do have a list of the vehicles , VIN's, mileage, etc. - if anyone is interested for future reference! This event occurs several times a year and they offer instant credit, transportation, and they do take credit cards!

Hold on Paducah!

George and Nancy - heading home?

Leaving the Legends in Branson

Found in Branson!  Who Would Have Guessed!

On Weds. we arrived in Branson MO. Quite an experience, Branson – not the drive! Definitely a place everyone should experience once in their lifetime. The key word is ONCE! I've seen more signs for 'tribute' shows, tickets for the shows, flea markets, and time shares in the past two days than I've seen in the past 5 years. As honky tonk as the downtown area is, the country side is beautiful. Narrow country roads lined with trees, winding up and down the Ozark mountains. The area is very scenic and picturesque area to drive through.

While Nancy searched the area for the one quilt shop that did not offer 'Made in China' products, I visited the Branson Auto Museum. The museum had over 100 cars, with most being offered for sale. The majority were restored stocks, mild modified and exotics. About 10 cars were housed in the 'Barn Finds' area. These were 'drivers' and and would require some level of restoration. The cars were from the early 30s to the 1970s. Nancy left the quilt shop with material, I left the museum with a flier for an auction in St. Louis on October 17 and 18. What a coincidence! Do you want to guess where we plan to be Friday! If this is the last entry in the blog, either I paid a visit to the pawn shop with the computer or Nancy should be considered a 'prime suspect'.

I almost forgot! The weather is sunny and a little cooler today – in the mid 60s. We had a fantastic hamburger at Chester's on the strip in Branson today. Definitely good, but I'm still not convinced it's the reason to come to Branson, but if you're here do stop in.

Tonight we will be attending a 'legends' show at the Dick Clark Theater. I plan to get a few autographs for my collection and maybe join a fan club or two! More to come later.

We did attend the show which provided a few laughs! The performers did a good job recreating the 'early days'. Marilyn Monroe put on a good show, spending some of her time walking though the audience and finally 'inviting' one gentleman to center stage. He was very cooperative and added many laughs to the show. The Blues Brothers were OK, but how could anyone expect to compare to the originals! They were very energetic! My vote for best of show would be The Temptations. They sang a number of hits, had great harmony and definitely got the crowd involved. The final act was Elvis. He has definitely been on the Weight Watchers program, since last sighting at Lake George a couple of years ago and has even managed to look much younger. It appears that the move to Branson has been good to Elvis!

Off to St. Louis...Keep your fingers crossed!

George and Nancy

Happy, Happy!

No Toto, But Great Museum!

It's Monday Columbus Day, Toto still eludes us and now the Tin Man will rust away in some field. And, there are many, many fields in KS.

This was a day of firsts for us. It was the day of extended driving in the rain and we had lunch at a Sonic! Our first choice was a local original drive-in restaurant that could accommodate about 25 cars. We passed the drive-in while driving to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.

Quilts of Valor

Unfortunately, when we return at 2:30, they had closed for the day. The Sonic was across the intersection from the old time drive-in, so it became our second option. The food at Sonic was better than we expected. The rain began when we arrived at the Museum and continued until about 4 o'clock. This was the first time we drove in the rain, since we left on this trip. Not bad for beginners!

Tuesday began with a visit to the Kansas Museum of History located in Topeka. This is a definite MUST SEE! The staff was very friendly and enthusiastic about the Museum and extremely knowledgeable about the exhibits. A section of the museum is dedicated to special exhibits that change about every six months. By the luck of the draw, the current exhibit is about the various Kansas race tracks and drivers – The Need for Speed. Who remembers that the first NHRA Nationals was held in Great Bend KS in 1955? Paul – a trivia question for the Dominators! The exhibit covered drag racing as well as short tracks, midgets, NASCAR, and stock cars. Quite the display!. Leaving this area, you progress through exhibits depicting various time periods in KS history. The display cases were informative and interesting. Many antique weapons (including a Gatling gun), both military uniforms and NA implements and dress were displayed. This was a spectacular building and even more impressive is that it was built in 1984 using public funds.

Our last stop in KS was at the Moon Marble Company. Not the stone – marble, but rather glass marbles. This is one of the last US based companies that produces hand-made glass marbles! And, no, we haven't lost our marbles but maybe that's up for debate.

George and Nancy - on to MO

Getting to the Land of Oz!

Friday finds us at the Anchor Inn in Walsenburg CO (with a Population of 4,182 in 2.3 Square Miles), can we find them or what! The trip from Santa Fe to CO could be completed by either the High Road or the Low Road. Although the projected time for either route is the same, the High Road is considered to be the 'Scenic Route'. From my point of view, Scenic Route translates to slower speeds and more opportunities to stop to take pictures. Both of my views were validated by taking the High Road! The following pictures were taken on a short section of the trip – traveling over about 200 feet of roadway provided the opportunity to get these shots. Note to self...Get video camera for the next trip.

At another location a DOT sign stated: 'No Dividing Line Next 1.2 Miles'. This led me to expect a construction project. WRONG! As we rounded the next curve in the road, we entered a town / village with the road narrowing to the width of about 15 feet. If a dividing line were present, the road would have been restricted to motorcycles! But they did reduce the speed limit to 15MPH. The only thing missing was a LEO with a radar gun!

Saturday we spent the day in Colorado Springs CO and visited the Cliff Dwellings, The Garden of the Gods, and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. The Cliff Dwellings were built by NA's between 1100 and 1300 AD. It was very interesting to see what could be accomplished with no architectural drawings, no knowledge of engineering principles, and no mechanical lifting devices. And their dwellings survived to today. With today's knowledge and superior products, we're replacing bridges and tearing down building due to poor construction after 50 years. So much for progress!

The Garden of the Gods is a park which is free to the public. I'm don't know if funding is through taxes or a foundation. This place is like a mini NP, but not all that mini. It is situated on the outskirts of Colorado Springs and contains numerous trails among the red rock formations for hiking, biking and horseback riding.

Our third stop was the unexpected bonus for the day, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. We were awed by the displays honoring the heroes of the Rodeo profession. The displays were outstanding! The display cabinets contained heavily tooled saddles, silver belt buckles, boots, chaps, and biographies of each individual member elected to the Hall of Fame. There was even a case honoring the Bucking Bulls! Fact: One owner offered a silver bowl to the first person who could ride this particular bull for 2 minutes. The bull had already been ridden over 200 times without anyone lasting 2 minutes. The bull was ridden another 78 times before the silver cup was won! The bull was ridden over 1,000 times in it's career. No Bull! In addition to all of the rodeo memorabilia the interior and exterior grounds were heavily decorated with beautiful bronze sculptures of life-sized, and larger, horses, bulls and cowboys. 

Sunday was spent traveling from CO to Kansas. No we haven't seen Toto! This place is flat, with many ranches or farms. We're still not sure of the difference! 

We visited the Santa Fe Trail Museum and got the bonus of attending the “Tired Iron” annual fair. The Tired Iron was a display of old farm equipment, both static and working, a car show, and food! What a novel combination! These was a demo of log cabin construction, wheat threshing, and, most interesting – milling planks from tree trunks with a John Deere-powered portable sawmill. Lot's of machinery and manpower were needed on the farm/ranch! It all most made Home Depot look appealing, but not as much fun.

Nancy and George - Still looking for Toto!

A DAY IN SANTA FE

We had a delightful dinner at la Choza, in Santa Fe NM on Wednesday. Their specialty is 'New Mexican Cooking'. I didn't know what NMC was upon entering the place and I didn't know when we finished dinner. The food had a bit of a bite, but was very good. I still would have preferred a slice of pizza, but I don't think pizza can be found in the area! Thurs. am found us touring Old Town Santa Fe. The Old Town area is a mix of outdoor NA booths around the plaza, art galleries, and stores with boots, knives, blankets, and an occasional Hagen Das. Progress meets the West! We also toured the outskirts of Old Town, which is a true artist colony. Rockport MA can't hold a candle to this area. Many large outdoor sculptures and art galleries in the artists' homes and studios. While this is an 'older' area the real estate values are in the $750K range. Moving further away from the 'Old Town' we viewed new homes in the $1 to $5 million range. The interesting aspect is that all construction MUST adhere to strict historical building codes. Outside colors must be approved and maximum height of 2 stories for residential and 4 story commercial structures are strictly enforced. Adobe is everywhere!

A visit to the Georgia O'Keeffe Art Museum finished off the day. Yes, it's the new 'artsy' me!

Rock, Paper, Scissors

To end the day, we went to the Santa Fe Capitol Grill. This is not part of the national chain, but rather a new restaurant in the area. I give it a 4-star rating – for whatever that's worth! I had a dish called 'Cherry Chicken Breast'. I thought it had great flavor! As we were leaving, I asked Nancy if she could remember the ingredients or would she like the menu to copy to ingredients. When we got to the cashier's station she asked for a menu and proceeded to copy the information. Along strolls a gentleman who asked how the meal was and what we were doing. He then told Nancy that it will not be the same. About 30 seconds later, a second gentleman appears, asks what she is doing, and then said: “stop writing, I'll give you the recipe.” He then gets a piece of paper from the cashier's station and begins writing the recipe and explaining to Nancy the ingredients, the prep work and order in which to prepare the final dish. Lastly, he said “Give me a call if you have any questions” and handed her his card.

Kudos to Israel Castro – Executive Chef – Santa Fe Capitol Grill. Sorry, no photos of the Cherry Chicken Breast at this time.

AZ to NM

We arrived in Sedona AZ Sat afternoon and plan to leave Tues am. The temperatures have been in the high 80s during the days and low 50s at night. It has rained each afternoon since we arrived in town. The weather forecasters reported that as of Sun. the area had received about 13.8 inches of rain this year to date. Each day the dark clouds have have moved in blocking the views of the mountains or red rock formations surrounding Sedona. Then the light show and rains would begin. Tremendous claps of thunder and bolts of lightning have been a part of each day's rain showers and sometimes followed by spectacular sunsets.

Sunday we spent checking out downtown Sedona. All the standard tourist stuff – t-shirts, turquoise jewelry, NA products with feathers, postcards, and the still popular, Mexican blanket pullovers.

Monday we took a Red Rock Jeep tour. A fun off road ride for about an hour. We did enjoy a pleasant ride, as Sunday's rain kept the dust down. And then, a little rain on our parade. By the time we unpacked our 'ponchos' – read that as plastic trash bags with a couple of holes for arms and a hood to protect my fragile hair, the rain stopped and it was sunny again. And we complain about New England weather!

Sunday afternoon found us driving south toward Cottonwood to visit Montezuma's Castle. This is a nearly ancient Indian ruin of pueblos built into the sandstone cliffs. Since the ruins had been ransacked many years ago, the researchers can only speculate as to why the Indians left the area. I would find the daily 50 -100 foot ladder climb enough to make me relocate!

Tuesday we traveled from Sedona AZ to Gallup NM, with visits to the Lowell Observatory and Meteor Crater and a stop at the Hubbell Trading Post. You ask why just a stop! As we traveled down the highway, Nancy was talking to my Dad back in MA. During the conversation, they talked about the time differences – the car clock said we were an hour behind Boston time. When we arrived at the Trading Post, we learned that we had lost an hour due to unknowingly crossing into Mountain Time – which also happened to be closing time! We also learned that some of the NA reservations can elect a different time zone than the rest of the state - another 'fact of the day'.

The Lowell Observatory was very interesting and informative about astrology and the 'things' discovered during research at the facility – like the discovery of Pluto which has now be reclassified as a sub-planet. The Lowell Observatory is related to the same Lowell family which was instrumental in the City of Lowell, MA's industrial revolution.

Continuing down the the road, we stopped at the Meteor Crater. This is a six mile ride from the main road to the crater site. And then, a big hole in the ground! Hint: if you hear that at meteor is coming, run, don't hide, don't walk, RUN! Meteors can be large and they do make a BIG hole in the ground! This is definitely is a must see! You just have to remember the Grand Canyon took a long time to get that big. The Meteor Crater was created really fast. RUN FAST!

Wednesday we treated the Highlander to an oil change and filter. We have put 5,500 miles on since we left on this adventure!

Our visit to the Unser Museum, which was payback for quilt shops, was quite interesting. Nancy got to learn all about the Unser family and their auto racing careers. Quite an amazing group and 4 members of the current generation are beginning to race. They have display cases filled with rings from victories in Indy and stock car racing. Then it was a visit to the balloon museum. Not party balloons, but rather very large hot air balloons. Albuquerque is considered to be the Mecca for balloon enthusiast in the US. I guess it's their Carlisle or Paduca. This celebration is a week long event, with the activities beginning a 5:30am each morning. Devoted fools they are!

George and Nancy Floating East

Good Report - GC is still here!

WE MADE IT!

Our day at the Grand Canyon was 'interesting'! We began by visiting the Watch Tower which gives some great views of the canyon and the Colorado River. The Tower is being rehabbed, but was still open to the public. Next we talked to several people that are part of a local volunteer search and rescue team. On Friday, they actually had a recovery, not rescue, for a person who fell into the canyon. Today, they were doing their annual 'cleanup' of a section of the canyon. Nancy and I were both so disappointed that we just didn't have the time to rappel over the edge with them to pick up other peoples trash!

The only thing I could think of is: 'I'm not your Mother'!

Search and Rescue Volunteers

We then took a bus tour of the Western area of the park. The drivers were quite knowledgeable about the area and the daily scheduled events. This particular tour was scheduled to be 70 minutes, but you could extend that time by getting off the bus at any stop, and then getting on the next bus (about 20 minutes later. Every thing was going great, until we noticed that the sun was being blocked by some clouds. Oh! look, some lighting off in the distance! Of course, here you can see 80 -100 miles, so the clouds were maybe clouds 50 miles away. Ah, a few drops of rain. The driver pulls up to the next stop and the bus doors open. Suddenly, the driver closes the door. You can hear the radio, but not quite make out the words. Finally, the driver announces that due to a 'severe weather condition' moving through the area, the park service has suspended all tours and ordered everyone off the 'mountain'. So, at 1:28pm, we are not allowed off the bus (like you could have gotten me off), and our bus becomes a rescue vehicle to get people from the higher levels back to the Village and parking lots.

We were able to do a picnic lunch by the car after the immediate rain subsided but the storm was still quite active when we decided to call it a day. Since our travel plans are flexible, we can return in another couple of days. Leaving the GCNP, we headed on down to Sedona via a couple of great scenic routes eventually arriving at our motel in time for a beautiful rainbow over Oak Creek in the heart of town. The evening ended with a good Italian dinner on an open deck overlooking Oak Creek...another great day!

A SEDONA WELCOME!

Today's Challenge, Now we have to find our way home!  But we're in no hurry!

George and Nancy

Bryce and Zion NPs

We left Moab UT early Thurs and drove to Bryce NP, with a ' few' stops at scenic overlooks. Utah DOT has made a major investment into their scenic overlooks. There are many and they have clean restrooms. As you leave the Bryce NP, there is a stretch of road in Red Canyon State Park that has an overlook every quarter mile. This does have a tendency to extend the travel time to the next destination! What does help shorten the travel time is the 75mph speed limit on Route 70. Often, 75 appears to be the minimum speed allowed, as you have to do that to keep up with traffic. And we did do our part to keep traffic moving. Always willing to do my part!

By Thurs. afternoon, we were visiting Bryce NP. Weather has been FANTASTIC! Temperatures in the high 80's, with 6 percent humidity. We heard a Boston weather report today. Sorry to hear the rain continues. The folks out here in Utah would gladly accept any donations of water.

Bryce NP is covered with with HooDoos. These can be best described as red stalagmites. As you drive through Bryce, you are constantly looking down into valleys containing these not-so-little red mountains. An awesome site!

View from motel - John Wayne slept here!

 

Bryce NP HooDoos

Mule Deer at Bryce NP

Friday was spent in Zion NP with it's 'under construction' roadways. There are major renovations being done to the twisting road system is Zion. We spent a fair amount of time stopped on the roadway while construction equipment was repositioned or the roadway sprayed with water to keep dust to a minimum. The annoyance of the stop was softened by the chance to really get an extended look at the mountain sides, tunnels, and panoramic vistas. While we didn't get to see as much of the park as we would have liked, it does give us a reason to do a return trip.

Red Rock Canyon State Park

Peaks

 

View at Zion

Leaving Zion, we traveled to Cameron AZ and spent the night at the Cameron Trading Post and Inn. The Trading Post was started in 1912 and still functions as a trading post. A descendant of the original owner serves as President of the Post, but it is now an employee (mainly NA) owned business. The complex consists of the motel and restaurant, a gas station, Post Office, and gift shop. Many of the products in the gift shop are manufactured on the Navajo reservation. There was an area devoted to the production of their rug / wall hangings. The looms ranged from 1 foot wide to at least 8 feet wide for a very large rug / wall hanging. The piece being worked on by one woman and was about 20 feet long! Can you say 'big bucks', like more than $1,500 for a 3' x 4'?

George & Nancy - Moving On!

Salt Lake City to Moab UT -- Scenic Byways

We arrived in Salt Lake City Sunday afternoon around 3:30pm and settled into a Best Western. Outdoor pool (temps mid 80s) and a laundry, what else do we need? We will probably spend a couple of nights here and tour the sites of SLC.

On Monday, we went to the Great Salt Lake and visited Antelope Island. The road leading into Antelope Island is about six miles long and has salt water on both sides. As you arrive at the island, there is a marina with several large boats. In this area, the water is 30' deep while the rest of the lake averages not more than 7 feet. We didn't travel the 125 miles west to visit the Bonneville Salt Flat. The land speed races are held in early Sept and early Oct. Our timing was 'off'. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to come back again. What a hardship!

Road to Antelope Island 6 miles long

An interesting fact from Antelope Island. The crust of the earth in the SW is a thin shell. As a result, Reno NV is shifting West at the rate of 1 inch per year, or 1 foot every 12 years. With plenty of thinking time in the car, one begins to question this fact. If Reno is moving west, is CA really being pushed into the Pacific? If this isn't happening, then is a new 'mountain' being created in western NV? Could a new volcano be created? The inquisitive mind wants to know! NOTE: You are going to have to guess who wrote this section! Puzzling isn't it!

Mormon Temple

Temple Square Gardens

Also on Monday, we toured Temple Square, including the Mormon Temple, the Tabernacle, and new gathering hall that seats 21,000 people. It is a beautiful complex! Many gardens filled with grasses, flowers, fountains, seating and walkways. We also spent time at the Family Search Center, open free to the public. What an interesting place! Hours and days could be spent there searching the world-wide data bases and receiving assistance from the “missionaries” who are extremely skilled both in languages and research. We only scratched the surface in developing our respective family trees. More to do during the coming winter months at home.

Tuesday was spent driving from SLC to Moab, UT, home of the Arches NP and Canyonlands NP. What a great town. It has the feel of a New Hampshire ski town but very warm and dry with red mountains in the background. A good 'down town' with gift shops, restaurants, and the typical tourist traps.

Wednesday was spent touring both the Arches NP and Canyonlands NP. Both had numerous 'postcard picture' views, but we missed the many wild animals we became accustom to seeing in Yellowstone.

An occasional gecko was all that we saw scurrying around. 

Roads at Canyonlands

Nancy at arch

Arch at Canyonlands

The Air is THIN!

New Hood Ornament....SORRY,  RALPH!