The name of this blog was not chosen to be cute. It was chosen because I know that I am consistently inconsistent. I have a whole lot of catching up to do, and decided that at this point the most logical way to go about it is to go backwards as quickly as possible. Don't hold your breath, but my goal is to be more or less caught up in the next week....or two.....or three.
St. George/Zion's
Flying into St. George is an adventure, only in part because of the stand-by risks. If I can catch the non-stop to LA (where I always treat myself to some divine butternut squash soup at Wolfgang Puck's) and if I can get on the turbo prop to St. George it's a nifty little trip. I leave El Paso around 1pm and land in St. George about 7:30pm. Driving would take twice as long, plus the cost of gas and wear & tear on a car. Using my travel benefits (thanks, Soren!) is so much better.
St. George has a very impressive new airport with magnificient scenery.
The descent after passing over Las Vegas is beautiful.
I arrived the day before the "Thunder Over Utah" airshow.
I loved seeing all the cool equipment.
Saturday we headed to Zion's National Park. I hadn't been there since I was so young I don't have any memory of being there. What an absolutely beautiful area. I know I wouldn't mind living in a little cabin tucked away in a remote canyon. The skies were overcast but the weather was very comfortable.
Andy - love that smile!
Kia doesn't just point and shoot
Dylan is mastering Maori poi balls
Eric*, Sandy, Andy, Kia & Dylan
*Kia has a boyfriend! He's very charming!
The "kids" and I hiked the Emerald Pools Loop (no, there wasn't a yellow brick road) while mom and Sandy rested. I love these massive, solid rocks that range in color from red to orange to gray to black, and everything in between.
We came around a sharp bend in the trail and arrived at the upper pool. The sheer rock walls almost surrounded us, rising up at least 125-150 feet. A waterfall was cascading down through a crevice with a lone tree standing guard. There was enough of a breeze to blow most of the water away - instead of falling into the pool it was turning into a mist that blew along the flat surface of the rock cliff. It was absolutely breathtaking. And the battery in my camera was almost dead. I took 2 or 3 pictures and then decided to just enjoy the beauty.
photo by Kia
Heading back we found ourselves on a trail that took us underneath a waterfall, but because of the way the wind was blowing there was one portion of the trail that was almost constantly being sprayed by water. We realized that if we timed it just right we might be able to run through the area without getting soaked. That was so much fun!
Beauty abounded, and my camera even let me take an occasional picture to prove it.
By the time we hiked out we were pretty hungry. Andy recommended a great restaurant in the little town just outside the park, and we stuffed ourselves with all sorts of good food - fish tacos (yum!!), massive hamburgers, ribs, steak, and enchiladas. There certainly was nothing to complain about!
Sunday morning after a breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon, Sandy & Crew headed north in the hopes of beating a snowstorm (they made it!). Following church, mom and I had a really nice visit with Aunt Judy. She had a box of postcards, many of them correspondence between my Great Aunt Mame and her brother, William, which were wonderful to look through. We also were able to visit with my Aunt Dolores and her husband, Don, which was such a treat as it has been years since I've seen them. She is recovering from a very serious infection in her knee and still has a ways to go, but hopefully is through the worst of it.
Monday was spent doing some little things to help mom around the house and then we got into the real fun - digging through some boxes of pictures and letters. Oh, what treasures! I sorely wanted to put them all in my suitcase and bring them home so that I could savor them. We found some tender letters that my grandparents had written to each other in the months before their wedding; the talk my grandmother gave when she was valedictorian for her high school graduation from Carbon High School (Price, Utah); a picture of Aunt Mame and the other sister missionaries she served with in the Northern States Mission in the early 1900's; and more. Oh my, it was a delicious afternoon! I love my family!
Tuesday found me heading home, much sooner than I would have liked. Sigh. Getting out of St. George on a plane wasn't possible, so I took the 2-hour shuttle to Las Vegas. 7 hours waiting in the airport and at least that many flights with no room for a stand-by passenger later I finally was able to get on a non-stop to El Paso. And that is the novelty of stand-by travel. Trust me, I am not complaining.
A short but very sweet trip; I seem to manage a lot of them, and am indeed grateful that I can. Sadly, no pictures of my beautiful, amazing mother from this trip, but I loved being with her. I'll just throw in one of my favorites from our family trip to Bolivia:
Fun! Would've been great to see you but glad you got to spend some great time with your momma.
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