Henry Clark's grave site in the Catholic Pioneer Cemetery at Silver Reef, UT. The story behind the elaborate wrought iron fencing is that Henry was a gambler in this silver mining town and was shot during an argument over a card game. The pot was left on the table as it was considered bad luck to take the pot after a gambler's death, so Henry's father apparently scooped up the money and used it to pay for this gorgeous iron work around the grave site. Located in the Catholic Cemetery (yes, there is also a Protestant Cemetery down the road) at Silver Reef, UT 

A home with their private plane sitting out front, ready for use. All the homes in the area were built in this adobe southwestern style by covenant, but they were all quite different. One with 4000 square feet of living space, a separate hanger and over 2 acres of land can be had for about $950,000. And there's a view! 

A huge home with its own hanger/garage for their private plane in an area called Sky Ranch.  

Red sand and blue waters. This was taken at the reservoir near Hurricane, UT 

Enjoying the true fruit of our geocaching labor-chocolate cream pie! 

Worth braving a little rain for

Something told me to take my camera along this morning when we went to the Sky Mountain Golf Course. Good thing I did, because the scenery was some of the most attractive as any we've ever seen at a golf course. The golf course is in wonderful condition considering the heat they get all summer, greens are sloped and tricky and the surroundings are very distracting. There are very attractive homes along the course also, but most are far enough away that you don't worry about hitting them. Most are. Denny did try for a roof on one hole but fortunately the ball stopped a few yards short. Whew.

The photo to the side was taken from the blue tees on the 18th tee box. See what I mean about the distracting views?

So where are we? In Zion National Park? Driving through Kolob Canyon? Nope! We're on the first tee at Sky Mountain Golf Course in Hurricane, UT. Golf isn't always about chasing that little white ball! 

View from the 16th tee, Sky Mountain Golf Course, Hurricane, UT 

A natural water fall near the 18th tee at Sky Mountain Golf Course, Hurricane, UT 

A short drive to Kolob Canyon

Kolob Canyon is part of the Zion National Park system, but is located off Interstate 15 at exit 40, about an hour's drive from the main section of Zion. There is a small visitor center at the entrance, after which you follow a 5-mile paved road which dead-ends at an overlook. There is a picnic area just about 50 yards up the 1-mile trail just off the parking area which is the only "authorized" picnic area. There are several pull-offs along the roadway for picture taking opportunities and there are three main hiking trails; the one mile, a five mile and a fourteen mile trail. The fourteen mile hike is a recommended two day trek, especially in the heat of summer and early fall. Apparently it is quite beautiful back along the 14 mile trail, but there are dangers to the park also.

I think the best time to visit Kolob would be early morning or dusk, as the sunlight at either period would bring out the color and texture of the red cliffs. The noon-time sun created too much glare today for great pictures, but I've included a couple below. Denny and I actually spent about an hour talking to another couple at the overlook, Debbie and her husband, Chuck. Debbie and Chuck are from San Antonio, TX (or TAY-ek-sus, as Debbie says) and Debbie was fascinated by our Rving lifestyle, asking a lot of questions and we did our best to answer them, ranging from the size of our rig, where we go, how we travel, what areas do we like best, where are we going next, and more. We finally exchanged e-mail addresses so they could continue their sightseeing, as they had flown into Salt Lake City and rented a car and were planning on seeing Zion, Bryce Canyon and possibly even the Grand Canyon. We gave them other ideas on places to go in Arizona at a future date and Debbie was very excited about the idea of exploring the Lost Dutchman's Mine area of Apache Junction. We love telling people about our lifestyle and how we got started with it and always hope to create a convert or two to the lifestyle.

We stopped at Molly's Restaurant in Leeds (don't blink or you'll miss the town at exit 22 NB or 23SB) for a great Philly cheesesteak and a BBQ bacon cheeseburger (there are benefits to the Atkins lifestyle!). Another one of those beautiful days in the neighborhoood!

As you enter Kolob Canyon, park of the Zion National Park system, the hills are tan rock with sage and cedar bushes until you round that first bend and see some of the red rock cliffs that are in store for you. 

Interesting textures in rock, Kolob Canyon, Zion National Park, UT 

A canyon crevise, Kolob Canyon, Zion National Park, UT 

A view from one of several scenic pull-outs, Kolob Canyon, Zion National Park, UT 

Do you like cats?

Fun pix of the various ways cat owners torture their pets. Been there, done that.

Thanks to Soul knitting for this one. http://www.soulknitting.blogspot.com/

Cheap entertainment

We normally don't go out on weekends, leaving the roads and the shopping malls to the people who work during the week and who need to run their errands on their days off.

So while watching the President's Cup golf program was entertaining, it's nowhere near as fun as watching incoming RVers attempting to pull into their sites. If you're not an RVer or haven't camped, it's hard to explain to you why we RVers find this so entertaining, other than the fact it gives us a sick sense of superiority when we watch folks struggle to get into their site, especially when there's a lot of yelling and finger pointing going on between spouses/partners. And basically the reason we enjoy it is because we've all been through it ourselves and we like to see the shoe on the other foot, as it were.

If a couple has owned a RV for any length of time, they have (or should have)developed a method of communication for backing/pulling into a site. The basic methods of communication are hand-held radios, voice-activated headsets (nice), hand signals and finally, yelling. We have the voice-activated headsets, but after having the batteries die at inopportune times, we agreed upon a few set hand signals for maneuvering and they have worked well for us. Partners need to trust each other to guide the driver while allowing enough clearance for slide-outs, tree branches that may hang overhead and watching how far the electric/water/sewer connections will be from where they attach to the rig. It's the antics of the person doing the guiding, or the driver's expertise or lack thereof, that provides most of the fun as you watch them pull in and then out or attempt to move the rig six inches over closer to one side or the other. This applies whether the RV is a 45 foot monster or a small pop-up as they each have their own idiosyncrasies when it comes to being moved into a site.

Watching others maneuver into their site is something we all do, some more discretely than others. And the downside is, the next time it may be us providing the entertainment!

Do you suppose they ever find any to arrest? 

The Pied Piper of the Weeping Wall leading his group back to the shuttle stop. 

Okay, this will be hard to see, but there's a blue dot about 1/3 of the way up this photo just left of the long crack in the wall in the middle of the photo. That's the rock climber. There is another fellow below him that was standing on a small ledge just waiting and watching. 

This is one of two rock-climbers scaling a cliff at the Big Bend area of Zion. The shuttle driver said it takes two days to scale this wall. Sleep in a hanging hammock? No thank you!