November 23, 2011 Update

Back in Tennessee and back on-line...finally; but that's another story.

Just a word or 2 about my long absence... I got locked out of the Internet the last several days at Zion.  Took 6 days driving home, visiting 3 sets of friends en route and a doctor's appointment in Nashville.  I have ALMOST gotten my condo back in order, and here it is Thanksgiving-Eve.  I probably won't get the last 3 weeks or so of my wonderful Zion Experience posted until sometime next week.  I am having arthroscopic surgery on my knee, wounded while hiking in Zion, next Monday, November 28, in Nashville.  Will be back in Johnson City on Tuesday evening, probably still groggy from anaesthesia and pain pills.  While I'm on crutches next week, I will be staying with a dear friend, whose house is all on one level.

My plan is to update my Blog while I am house-bound, recouperating.  Say a prayer for my successful surgery.

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends,
Peg

I interrupt my travelogue to bring you another "Small World Story"

Janice and Tom. do you recognize these folks?

Yes, we met today in the Gift Shop at Zion Lodge when Larry must have noticed my name badge said I am from Tennessee, and he asked where in Tennessee.  I said, "East Tennessee."  He told me had a friend who used to live in East Tennessee and was the chairman of the chemistry department.  I replied, "Tom Huang?"; and he said, "Yes."  I then said, "Tom and Janice Huang?"  That's when he told me that Janice and his wife were college roommates at Brown.  Liz and Larry were on a Road Scholars' tour, formerly known as Elderhostel.

It's  a Small World.

Fire alarm in the Lodge and Annie comes to visit

It turned cold last week, so management directed that the heat be turned on because the Rangers were having a meeting at the Lodge, and we should impress them with how comfortable everyone could be.
W-E-L-L, when heat hasn't been turned on for a season, you know that burning dust smell you get?  Someone smelled burning dust (and we have lots of dust), and turned on the fire alarm.  Standing rules are to secure your area and evacuate, in that order and nothing more.  Since the heat was turned on because it had turned cold, people went out with no wraps or with whatever they could grab going out the door of the Lodge.

The clouds hung low and heavy, and even the Rangers were cold.

20 minutes out in the cold ought to bring everyone to life and get them to work faster!  Right?  Wrong!

The weather had moderated by the time Annie arrived (you'll recall Margaret and Richard and I visited Annie at The North Rim) the next day, and we struck out on our travels.  First stop was at the "tourist trap" at Virgin, UT, so named for the Virgin River that flows through it. You also will recall the 23 miles of NW Arizona between St. George, UT and Mesquette, NV known as the Virgin Canyon, carved over eons by the Virgin River.  The muffins this place sells are huge and delicious, and our mouths were watering, but all we could do was drool.  They didn't open until 10, and we were off for a day of fun and discovery and couldn't wait 1/2 hour for them to open, even if the white rooster did coo and cluck like a hen for handouts.

Yes, I had to pose in front of the Virgin Jail, also.



We went to the Dixie Music Festival in a city park adjoining Dixie State College in St. George.  Lots of things are referred to as 'Dixie' in this part of Utah.  I guess it's because the area is 'Down South' in Utah!  There were more crafts and vendors than there was music, although someone was playing and/or singing most of the time, as we wandered among the tents.  We then drove around the part of 'old town' that I had explored previously and then parked and walked around the area a bit.  My knee began to argue that this was not what it wanted to do, so I sat in a lovely, shaded little area among shops.  This 'barn' shop I found most interesting. 

I thought Warren might be interested in its colors.

We found bargains galore in a consignment store.  Annie definitely has that Western Look in her hat.

It's hard to tell that I'm holding onto the thumb of a large cast hand.

It's not easy to tell what's snow and what's clouds in this picture, but I can assure you that below the clouds and above the dark shadow of the clouds on the mountain is SNOW.  The Pine Valley Mountains are just north of St. George and have some peaks in excess of 10,00 ft.  Anything over  8,000 ft. got snow last week, so here's the first real October snow, folks.

Here we are back in Paradise.  At the foot of Zion Canyon Drive from the Park entrance to the Lodge is a pull off with the sign "Court of the Patriarchs".  Across the Virgin River to the left are 5 high rock formations, named by the Mormons, who settled this area in the mid-1800s and tried with desperation to farm this arid sandy soil.

The 3 Patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph.

To the left of the Patriarchs are Mt. Moriah (may be similar but a slightly different name) and the Sentinel.  I got one but not both on the left side of the canyon...and of course that wonderful blue Western Sky complete with a couple of clouds.

Annie went for a hike, and I iced my knee before dinner and turning in for an early night.  She had to get an early start on Sunday morning to make the 3 hour drive back to the North Rim for work Sunday afternoon. 

 I love having visitors and seeing old friends.  One of the guys at the Front Desk made a comment today about my visitors.  Just wait until Retta arrives for a week!  I personally can't wait and am busy planning her schedule while I'm working and the motor trip we will be taking to the east side of the state to visit Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands National Parks.

Just 3 more weeks in Paradise.  It has flown by. 

Day trip to North Rim of The Grand Canyon with Margaret and Richard

We saw today the first signs of autumn with the aspen turning their gloroius shade of yellow.

                                                                Our next adventure...

"The hills are alive" with...not with the sound of music, but with yellow aspen

A little reflection on the windshield but still the yellow shows through.

Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim

The central entrance to the Lodge.

The view off the back terrace.  It's hard to see the mountains (the far rim) for the trees.

A few less trees in this view.  Actually the Colorado River Canyon, known as The Grand Canyon, is on the other side of the 'mountain' in the distance.  This is Bright Angel Canyon.

Another view from the Lodge terrace of Bright Angel Canyon.

The view from front to back of the main entry into the Lodge.  The Native American rugs hanging on the walls are magnificent.  Notice all the native stone work and lodge pole pine beans.

The dining room, down a few steps and to the right of the main lobby.  Again, handsome Native American rugs on the walls.

Margaret, Richard, and me in front of the cage for check-in, probably original.

Back out on the terrace, the view to the west, still with Bright Angel Canyon's south rim in the distance.

The views are so different in each direction...this is eastward.

We went down this road 11 miles, looking for The General Store, where we were to meet my friend Annie for lunch.

                                                                    

We came 11 miles back up this road from the Park entrance station to meet Annie.

We finally found her, and we had a very short visit over lunch...she had already given up and eaten her lunch.  Annie and I worked together in the Gift Shop in The Tetons.  She had stopped in Zion, and we had a good visit when she was on a  "Road Scholars" tour.  She is working a weeks contract at The North Rim Gift Shop.  The North Rim, which is 10,000 ft. in elevation, closes October 15.

On Fuller Canyon Road to Point Imperial another riot of color from very small and young aspen, which have sprouted since a fire.

We've been down and then up to arrive here.

The close-up view from Imperial Point, looking one direction.  You just can't get away from the red rocks,'hoodoos', cedar and spruce trees, and multi-colored bands of aged rock.

The distant view.

Quarter turn right...

and quarter turn right...

These views seem so vast, it's hard to believe they are of only a tiny protion of Utah/the USA/our Earth

The views are in layers of distance...

This would make a good "Paint by Number" endeavor.

Recorded for posterity: Richard and Margaret Ashworth and Peg Pickens were at Imperial Point, North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Sunday, September 25, 2011.

A little windshield in the corner but more aspen "in bloom"

Even the ferns turn yellow.  They are not to be outdone by the trees!

I just can't get enough of the bright yellow of the "quaking aspen", and especially since I hear that the leaves all will be brown and mostly fallen from their limbs when I get back to Tennessee.

Okay, I'll try not to bore you with anymore brilliant yellow...and did I mention the complimentary blue sky?

Leaving North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

Re-entering Kaibab National Forest through which we travel  42 miles to Jacob Lake and along the top of a ridge for about 12 miles before dropping down very quickly en route another 25 miles to Kanab, just inside the Utah border.

Clouds for Carol

More clouds for Carol

If you look very closely just to the left of the center of the photo, you will see a little pronghorn sheep's white tail end and just to his right is a large one looking straight at us.  Unfortunately, there was no time to zoom the camera from the moving car (I wasn't driving).

Even though the lighting wasn't ideal, this is the best picture I have gotten so far of this huge amphitheater just west of the tunnels.

"Fire on the mountain"

Sunset in downtown Springdale. 

Margaret and Richard could get the guest room in the dorm at The Lodge only for first part of their visit.  They moved to a cute little renovated '60s motel in town, and this sunset was made from the grounds of the motel.

Looking down the yard of the motel toward the street, you can see how private and secluded it was.

Note the rock "mountains" in the background.  We're still in Zion Country.

We discovered this Mexican heather on the back border of the motel property.  Note how well its colors coordinate with the colors of the rocks in the background.

Gathering sunset.  Even this view of the sky with the threatening clouds is awesome.

The clouds in the West are different from our cloud formations back East.

Love the silouetted mountain in the foreground.

The sun reflected red on the bottoms of the clouds.

The sun has set, evening is nigh, and Margaret and Richard are relaxing on the lawn of their motel after our long day trip.

They leave in the morning for the last day of their Utah experience to fly out of Las Vegas.

It was wonderful having Margaret continue her visits to my Park Adventures and Richard to begin his journey with her.

Where will we go next?  Stay tuned.

BUT I'm not leaving yet, so there are more adventures in store for me... and more visitors.