The Trip North

On Saturday, April 25th, we awoke to windy windy windy weather along the reservoir and decided to move our home farther north. That doesn't really sound too smart, but... it is what we did. Three days later, we sit by the Sawmill Pond. Alas, I am ahead of myself and it was an interesting trek.

Utah scenery was still striking.

This group of rocks looked just like a "thumbs up" to me.

When we hit Colorado, we were in the mountains climbing to heights of 10,000 and then over 11,000 feet. First the streams were full of rushing water and then we saw the reason why... plenty of new snow blanketed the trees

and made driving interesting.

We ran in some rain and snow, but mostly just dreary winter weather. And then... Nebraska and South Dakota - who can tell the difference...





I was surprised the farmers weren't farther along with planting; most of the fields hadn't even been turned over yet. Of course, this guy was too busy building weird yard - make that field - sculpture. Too bad we were too late for this event...

And then...

And this morning, a very typical spring day in Minnesota... The chilli is cookin'...Chicken Chilli in Grandma's Pot - Yes, Barry, the pot works inside. too!

Just Another Day

One day this week, we decided to pack our lawn chairs, some lunch, and the fishing equipment and head for a stream about an hours drive away. About 20miles from home we came across a road we hadn't been on ... the sign said it ended at a reservoir so of course we changed our plans and took a left. Turns out this road winds in and out of ZION National Park. There were beautiful vistas... redwood trees framing the vistas,

And even farmland in some places.

And then as the elevation increased, the road narrowed to one plowed lane - yep, that is lots of snow. We went from 84 degrees when we left home to 48 in just an hour's drive.

Seems that this road is a snowmobile trail in the winter and just recently there was one lane plowed for those who have seasonal homes in the area. We never made it to the end, the reservoir, as the road was completly blocked and the snow still several feet deep.

So, by now it is noon and we turn around and head for that fishing stream. We ate lunch as we drove through Zion on the main road and of course I had to take a few pictures. The sky was rapidly changing and made for great contrast.

At about 2:00 we got to the turn off for the stream, caught sight of a golf course, stopped and found out it was only $10 for 9 holes and decided to play golf instead. By 3:30, we were on our way home. Just another day - well planned and changed on a whim.

Quail Creek State Park

Just around the corner from our Western Horizon Park, just north of St. George Utah is the beautiful Quail Creek State Park Campground. For just $13 a night, we get to enjoy the beauty of the mountains, the creek and the reservoir. Believe me, we have wanted our boat here every day.

This will probably sound strange to some, but I feel like I am on vacation. Years ago when Mike and I first hooked up, I introduced him to tent camping and we enjoyed areas just like this on weekends throughout the summer. We do not have electricity or water or sewer hookup - we are dry camping, just like we did years ago when tenting. And, unlike the dry camping we do at Quartzite each year, we are not with lots of friends, it is just us. When we do turn on the generator, we cannot get any local channels so watching TV is very limited. We have been cooking outside and doing dishes outside and just sitting and enjoying the weather and mountains and water and sky and I have finished two books and Mike has wet a line a few times ... well, it feels like I am on vacation! And I am enjoying it!


This was the view from the MH just before the sun peaked over the mountain this morning. (I know, I couldn't believe I was up that early either!)

Here Mike is using the picnic area outside our door to get ready for a bit of fishing.

On my morning walk, I spotted all kinds of shrubs and flowers enjoying the early morning sunshine.

And this is the MH from the walking path. As you can see, it is fairly private and very quiet.

This is just upstream from where this beautiful trout hung out. Mike tried everything in his arsenal to get him to bite, but nothing worked. Maybe he was just looking for some hand tied flys... what do you think Barry and Dan? (If you click on this picture, you can actually see the fish pretty good.)

Well, more on another day - I just got the low battery signal from my computer - another sign of "roughing it".

Odds and Ends

This is what lies across the road from our campground. It is a state recreation area and on Easter Sunday the place was full of families celebrating. It is a great place for walks.

These beauties are eating us out of house and home in one more location. Our new feeder seems to attract birds no matter where we are.

We went to Las Vegas one day last week (only about 120 miles from St. George) to see Jim and Monica who had flown in from Florida to spend some time with Barb and Lanning from Minnesota. Jim got a bug, or some bad food, so we ended up enjoying the time without him. Binions still has the million and they were running a promotion - No, I didn't win it, but it felt good to be that close to it.

This is a one year picture of our precious little great granddaughter Amariah. (She is neither an odd or an end, but I really wanted to share the picture.) Thanks, Janet, for emailing pics regularly.

Along Utah highway 89, we saw this gem. It was parked at an RV Park... definitely an attention grabber. Bob, give you any ideas? You must have a old truck around somewhere... and with the sawmill handy...

Bryce Canyon National Park

A couple of days ago, we visited Bryce. It was a long day of driving - over 290 miles, but it was worth while. This is an absolutely awe inspiring park and one that I would recommend everyone visit - another place for the "bucket list". I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Yes, that really is snow. Most of the park sits at 8,000 feet or above.

It seems everywhere we go in Utah, there is an arch...

The area just begs to be photographed at every turn and I was only too happy to comply.

One of the stops held a surprise - seems this fellow saw his reflection and was threatened by the "other male" in his area - 5 minutes later he was still fighting it!

This Western Jay was very used to visitors and actually posed for us to take pictures.

The park was magnificent from beginning to end with views that mesmorized and we could drive at our own pace - much better than Zion.

On the way home, we decided we would take a different route. We learned that in this part of the world you really need to consult the map about roads that may be closed in winter...

I was driving when Mike said, "Take the next left"... I don't think so. And then a few minutes later ... looks like Cedar Breaks National Monument will wait till next time.

Both of us experiences some breathing problems at this height. And Mike got a headache from something other than me!

A great day!