Tuesday

First of all...

WELCOME QUINCY!!!!

What a little doll she is!

And now on to Tuesday.

Tuesday saw us up and out "early"

On tap today was another of Kyle's

Bucket List items.

Last year when he was out in Utah

he very nearly went to Arches 

and Canyonland.

But then he decided to head on home to Florida.

And he has regretted it ever since.

So this trip he was bound and determined.

There are some amazing things to see there!

And see them we did!

But you won't.

Because about here, my phone froze.

And then it took ALL DAY to get it to reboot.

And then it died for real.

So.

Take my word for it.

We had a GREAT time.

We climbed up into the arches.

We took pictures - well Rod and Kyle did.

We saw some beautiful things.

And then we drove up the road to Moab

for a bite to eat (we were STARVED)

and then on to Canyonlands.

It was really fun to see the "mini" Grand Canyon.

So beautiful!

We timed it so we could watch the sun set.

And then we waited and waited and waited

until it was full dark so Kyle could take pictures

of the gazillion stars.

I spread out a jacket and plopped down on it

(on the sidewalk) and star gazed to my heart's content.

It was WONDERFUL!!!

(It also meant we didn't get back to the cabin until

nearly 2 in the morning... but Kyle was so pumped

from seeing more stars than he has ever seen in his life

that he had no trouble staying awake to drive...)

I don't think I've ever seen the Milky Way clearer

than I did that night.  

Our world is simply gorgeous!

Monday

Sorry - I spent the day yesterday in meetings.

Ugh.

I need a vacation.

(grin)

Anyhow.

Monday.

It was Labor Day.

We were afraid everything would be SWAMPED.

As you can see, the traffic was

AWFUL!!!!

The flat-landers REALLY enjoyed the mountains.

All that GREEN.

So beautiful!

We went through the mountains and headed down

to Antelope Island in the middle of the

Great Salt Lake.

Ran into some cousins.

They have several large herds on the island.

They were mostly down by the lake.

Kyle is turning into quite the photographer!

He's not afraid to climb to get a shot.

He HATES being IN photos though.

So the only way I could get a picture was to take a 

selfie with him behind me!

LOL

(focus on HIM please...)

(it was WINDY)

Rod, however, is not shy.

Just handsome.

We drove all over the island.

Saw some really rugged beauty.

Climbed a small mountain

(ok, hill)

Lots of people around,

but not terrible.

Stopped in Midway on the way back.

There is a giant hill in the middle of town with

a war memorial on the top.

Great views of the valley.

Really interesting memorial.

Each of those columns has a plaque commemorating

local folks who participated in various conflicts.

A stunning memorial to the fallen warriors.

A tribute to each of the branches of service.

And a good view of the Wheeler fire that closed 

the road above Sundance for the rest of the week.

Luckily we already did the Alpine Loop.

(And only forest burned, no homes)

When we got home there was a deer peeking around the corner of the shed.

You have to look REALLY hard to see her.

Oh, THERE she is!

We were TIRED.

But happy to have a Dairy Keen (Train Stop)

burger and shake, sit and relax

and read our Kindles and watch Hulu.

Sunday

It was fun to spend the day Saturday driving around

all the old haunts.  

We decided to spend the day 

driving up the Uintas behind the cabin.

There were several deer.

And Rod's first ever moose!

Yup, I know, these are deer.

The moose was a juvenile and shy.

We didn't get any pictures of him.

But it was a beautiful day!

Windy,

brisk,

but the sun was shining brightly.

When we got to the top of the mountain

it was  C O L D!!!

Kyle and Rod got out and took some pictures.

The Canadian wisely stayed bundled up,

INSIDE the car.

Sondra drove up the mountain 

and we got to visit for awhile.

It was so good to see her and spend

some time with her!

A nice, relaxing day!

Monday's next.....

We are BACK from Vacation! - Saturday

Holy Toledo!

That was a GREAT vacation!

We have been in Utah for the past 10 days.

Hope you didn't miss us.

LOL

Part way through, my phone blew up.

So it was a TRUE vacation.

No texts.

No phone calls.

(ACK!!!!!)

At least I could still take pictures...

We flew in Friday afternoon and drove

straight over to Soni's house.

(Yes, I CAN take pictures.

I just forget.

Constantly.)

We shared a yummy Hawaiian pizza

with Soni and Matt.

(Greg was in Hurricane with the girls)

It was so great to see them.

WOW Matt makes the most amazing

hand carved spoons!

(Again - no picture)

(But I'll take a picture when mine gets here...)

We had a great visit with them and

then headed up the mountain to the cabin.

(Stopping at WalMart in Heber for groceries)

Saturday we headed down the mountain

and had a fun breakfast at Chicks Cafe

in Heber City.

We had a great time driving through the canyons.

(Kyle was our chauffeur for the week...)

As well as the chief photographer.

Rod took his share as well...

This one was mine.

Then we headed on down into Provo.

Of course, we had a bucket list of things we wanted

to do and see while in Utah this year.

One of them was THIS.

Kyle has been watching BYU TV and saw a special

about the creamery and HAD to try their ice cream.

Oh my goodness!

It was fantastic!

(Yup, the diet was suspended for 10 days...)

Kyle enjoyed his!

He hates when I take his picture.

See?????  

LOL

Doesn't that look yummy?

(The ice cream was good too...)

And then...

It was up to the "Y".

We decided that climbing that STEEP mountain

was probably a poor choice of activity right after

bowls of super rich, creamy ice cream.

We did get a good view of the city of Provo though.

It was fun trying to pin point places from our past.

We drove around and found our old apartments,

(OLD and run down looking, but neither of them were "new" when

we lived there 34 years ago either...)

Then we found Rocky Mountain Helicopters

(which is now a cement plant)

(Rod took pictures)

where we met

and Powder River Enterprises

where I worked just before we got married.

(checked out DHI {Dairy Herd Investigators}

online but didn't drive over...)

None of our favorite food haunts still existed.

Sensuous Sandwiches

Rolling Scones

and the burger place that used to give the

guys grocery bags full of fresh popcorn

when they were working overnights.

It was fun to drive around and see them all!

On the way back up the canyon we stopped

at Bridal Veil Falls and walked about 2 miles.

Strangely I took lots of pictures of the trail

but not ONE of the falls themselves!

Wow.

I'm an impressive photographer.

We spent LOTS of time in the mountains,

climbing various trails.

And the guys were constantly asking me

"So what are THESE berries?  Can we eat

them?  If Grandpa were here, he would tell us..."

So Dad.

What are THESE?

They grow in a clump,

so we were pretty sure we shouldn't eat them.

(We didn't eat ANY berries)

Finally back to the cabin so make some 

burgers with fresh corn on the cob

and get a good night's sleep for the next day's

adventures.

Tomorrow... Sunday.

Morning Fireworks

We on the Space Coast always love

our morning fireworks!

Got up "early" this morning

(6:18 - my alarm is set for 6:20)

and got to watch this beauty!

The sun was going to be up at 7:01

so it caught the very beginnings of the sunrise.

In all the 34 years of watching these things live

I've never seen one as beautiful as this one.

I actually was worried that it blew up!

But all is well,

it was just the moisture in the air.

Amazing, eh?

Much as I LOVE living in Florida...

THIS is going to happen!

Nope.

We aren't excited AT ALL

about our upcoming vacation!