Zion

Links:  Friday's Fences
Random 5 Friday
Oh, the Places I've Been
Orange you Glad Its Friday
Weekend Reflections
Travel Photo Monday
Mandarin Orange Monday

 Yard fencing decorated to celebrate July and summer. Notice the flags in the window and a small reflection in that window?

 East end of Zion's National Park

When you see a red hot road, you are in Zion National Park in southern Utah.

I tried for years to get pictures of this area of Utah but my camera never captures the brilliant colors. My digital camera comes close.

I did not go into what they call "the narrows" but I have been there in the past. A small stream of water in what we westerners would call "a creek" runs through the narrows.  Normally, it is safe but during thunderstorms, the area is off limits because of flash floods. There is no place to get away from the water as the rock walls go straight up on both sides about the length of a football field. The narrows heads north and you can walk through it which takes hours.

1. My neighbor is a "dyed in the wool" fisherman. He brought me a foot long rainbow trout two days ago. I absolutely love fresh trout which always makes me think about my grandpa who fished all day for his vacation and brought home a bag of trout from Cassia Creek in Idaho. Grandma always fixed us trout for breakfast - yum!

2. It has been a bit lonely this week because the pools are closed. The outdoor pool closed for the summer even though it is still 94 to 95 degrees F here. The pool always closes at the start of school because the caretakers who run the pool are school teachers. The indoor pool closes for one week each year in August. It would have been the perfect time for a trip to Poland.

3. I enjoyed water aerobics four days a week this summer and the camaraderie of my pool friends so I miss that this week.

4. I am going to lunch today with my double cousin (surnames of Allen and Nicholas). We've been emailing for a month now and exchanging information which I hunted down years ago. It has drawn me right back into genealogy searching.

5. I made my first Quiche and it was not bad. Not as good as the one I had in Monterey, CA from the exquisite French Bakery but next time I think I will use creme for a richer taste.  Anyone make quiche?

Kaibab National Forest

Both sides of the road assaulted my eyes with blackened left overs from the fire that ran for as far as I could see.  Shocking to see up close. Lightening strikes set off a blaze that spread quickly over 103 acres.

North Rim - Grand Canyon Lodge

Two cabins of many near the lodge. Cabins are built close together.

Kachina doll inside the lodge. There was a grand ballroom on the left side of the lodge and I could see in my mind, back when the lodge was first built, people in fancy regalia dancing to live music.  Now, of course, they have rows of chairs set up for movies or lectures.

Food was more expensive than what I wanted to pay for lunch so I headed back to Jacob Lake for lunch. There used to be a lake there but through the years it has just dried up. Now there are cabins to rent, a motel, a cafe and a large souvenir shop. They had thunder eggs (geodes) from Utah. Get your own hammer and see what color lies beneath the geode - in the jewelry world, they call them druzy.

Met two young men from Switzerland sitting on stools at the cafe. They flew into New York, rented a car and were slammin down the highways of America. They drove down the eastern coast to Florida (which was steaming hot), across the lower states such as Texas and had come up into Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. Next they were heading for Vegas and California after driving through Zion National Park in Utah. Ending their trip in Seattle, another flight back to New York and onward to Switzerland.

A nice comment came when I asked, "do you find Americans friendly"?

 "Yes, very friendly" he said, "more so than Europeans."

Links: Travel Photo Discovery

Reflections - Sedona Toad

Linking to: Weekend reflections

Bountiful Summerfest 2013

Links: Friday My Town Shoot out
Friday's Fences
Random 5 Friday
Oh, the Places I've Been

Front yard and lovely white plastic fencing

Bountiful Rec Center with a ship slide for the kids beyond the fence.

Soap suds to play with (these two are mine)

Art work on canvas (these two are mine)

Dance Troupe from Taiwan 

Dancers from Chili

Can you image dancing with wool hats, long sleeves and wool sox in 95 degree weather?

Bubble machine

Can you see the bubbles?

1. Each August Summerfest is held at the Bountiful Park and dancers from all over the world come to dance for us.  This year Taiwan, Chili, Netherlands and Trinidad came with multiple dances and costume changes. 

2. It was as much fun for my grandkids as us because they had lots of bubbles, suds, games, lawn bowling, painting and it was all free.

3. I even saw a couple of my granddaughters trying to move like some of the dancers.  Let's see now, just raise that back leg and bend it like so.....

4. We split a Navajo taco, a Tongan chicken and rice dish and Italian ice. Later my daughter tried deep fried Oreos (uck) and a battered deep fried Twinkie.  Yes, folks the Twinkie is back again.

5. Every time we come, we see that recreational center with the amazing swimming pool and say, "I'd like to go there some day." But we forget until the next year.

This fella said it was okay to take his photo in the tub.

Sedona,AZ Tidbits

Oink critters of Sedona City, AZ.

 Inside the chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona.  It is a very small chapel.

I never knew that cactus could be green and lavender.

A lovely sculpture in downtown Sedona.

Linking: Travel Photo Discovery
Take a peek, there are gorgeous photos there.

Library Fences and Seasonal Fun

Enjoyment at the Farmer's Market in Salt Lake City - you never know what you will come across. It is like going to the fair.

Seasonal Fun

Linking to Friday My Town Shoot out

Fun things to see and snap on a summer vacation road trip.

Roof top garden looking east from the five story Salt Lake City County Library, built in 2003.

Fencing to keep creatures out of the water feature on the south side of the library.

 One of the stairways to the roof top.

Plexiglass fencing in the library's courtyard where tiny stores abound.

Sculpture within the library.

The curved structure is the SLC Library on Library Square.

Linking to Friday's Fences
Random 5 Friday
Oh, the Places I've Been

1. The SLC library was built in 2003 and it took me 10 years before I was able to go inside it.  I was disappointed that parts were already being remodeled.

2. The wind kicks up, the trees sway, the clouds move in and within an hour or so, it all blows away leaving not one drop of rain.

3. Blue Bunny makes a red velvet cake ice cream that really startles the taste buds - we celebrated my granddaughters first birthday today.

4. I've never been a napper so why is it that I feel I need one now at this age?

5. I've been considering joining the Red Hat Society.  Does anyone out there belong?

Coral Sand Dunes

Passing the Coral Sand Dunes on my way to Kanab, I stopped to take a few photos.  Below is a ridge just east of the sand dunes.

The outskirts of the coral dunes.

There were tiny little foot prints crossing every which way in the sand. All kinds of critters live there. 

Fascinating, hot, ever changing, and a playground for adults with their machines - all of these describe the Coral Sand Dunes. You don't want to get stuck in this sand.

Deer, rabbits, lizards, kit foxes, birds live there, and many unidentifiable insect and rodent tracks are in abundance.  The dunes are an extremely lively place at night; there was an amazing collection of tracks covering every bit of the dunes. 

Linking to: Travel Photo Monday
Tuesday Around the World

Salt Lake City Reflections

I never set out to get a reflection but after I take a photo of a beautiful building and or of water, there the reflections appear as if magic. This is the Salt Lake City Public Library in the downtown area.  The water features around the building draw you in.

This is what is called "The Gateway" in downtown Salt Lake and I was trying to capture the fountain that squirts streams of water up into the air automatically and there I ago again - another reflection.

Linking to: Weekend Reflections

Artifacts

Filled with artifacts - inside Moqui Cave, located near Kanab, Utah.

Linking to My Home towns shootout for choices.

Colorado River Crossing near Marble Canyon and Lee's Ferry.

Fence and bridge across Lee's Ferry on US 89A.

Fencing and part of the bridge structure across the Colorado River.

Zoomed shot of the Colorado River. 

It started to rain while I was taking pictures of the river so I skittered back to the Navajo open air shops to drool over the earrings, necklaces and little hand-painted pottery canoes. 

Linking to: Friday's Fences

Oh the Places I've Been

Random 5 Friday

My youngest granddaughter gave me lots of hugs and love yesterday.  She missed me.  How wonderful it feels to have someone care.

I do water aerobics 4 days a week now - added an extra day this summer and during the summer months we swim outside under our gorgeous Utah blue sky.

I am down 5 lbs - hooray for me!

Our town has been on water restrictions this summer and they gave me a warning ticket for watering on even days instead of odd days.

How would you like that job - going around seeing who is sprinkling their lawns in the middle of the night?

Off to get my massage - they are addicting!